Naiad Drop: Tales of Fiore and Beyond!
by Raiyane
Summary: No longer accepting OCs! Follow the independent mages' guild Naiad Drop as they travel around Fiore and other kingdoms. Adventure, battles, friendship, romance, drama, tragedy and much more will await these heroes!
1. Chapter 1 xIntroduction

_**Author's Note: **__Hi~ Welcome to my side Fairy Tail fic! I'm Raiyane and if you don't read my other fic, that's okay! This fic is going to be about an independent guild that will most likely be named Naiad Drop when it forms. It will start before the guild is formed, and the guild will be a traveling guild that does… Whatever they feel like. They are independent so, you know, they may not always have the most just way of doing things. They won't have a base of operations or anything like that. _

_There probably won't be that much interaction with canon characters in this. Maybe once or twice or something._

_Why am I doing a fic when I'm already short on time? Because, this is a side fic and I've had this idea for a while. It's practice for me, as I'm used to working with over 20 characters or more and I will be working with fewer characters this time. I may also try to play with writing styles later, maybe.  
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_As such, there are restrictions to what kinds of characters and the number of characters I will be accepting. Information is at the bottom of the chapter and PLEASE, PLEASE read everything before submitting.  
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_Anyway, I don't own Fairy Tail, but the characters that appear in this chapter are all mine. C: Enjoy~_

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><p><strong>June 5<strong>**th****, X792**

"Thank you so much for your patronage kind traveler," the middle-aged woman said from behind the counter, bowing her head slightly. "I do hope these will aid you in your travels."

The man on the other side of the counter reached a dark caramel hand across the counter and took the bag of hooks and small container of crickets from the woman, giving her a huge, lopsided grin that showed off some of his molars. "No probs, lady. Thanks!" he responded in a boyish, but soft tone of voice. He turned and walked out of the tiny shack that he was in, waving to the woman as he left.

Deep brown eyes squinted in the bright sunlight of the northern Fiore shore and the man let out a sigh, striding across the beach. This man was dark skinned, with a lean, muscular figure and an average stature. He had dark hair that appeared black with violet streaks in the bright sunlight. His hair was messy, with one lock on the top of his head flipping upwards. The front of his hair was choppy and puffed out slightly and the sides got longer and longer towards the back, with most of the back touching his shoulders, save for one long, thick lock that fell to his waist. His eyes were dark brown, with long, dark lashes that had marks in the outer corners that formed little black triangles. His face was triangular, with a cute round nose and arched, dark brows. He looked feminine, save for his boyish grin. He was dressed in a white, sleeveless, mid-drift shirt that had a huge, wide neck, and violet colored pants that poofed out, but were tucked into black boots that stopped mid-calve. There was a beige cloth tied around his waist, knotted at his left hip and fitting loosely around his right hip. He had three golden earrings in the bottom lobe of each ear, and there was a large, golden bangle on his left wrist. This bangle had 12 small, round indentions, three of which were filled with little hexagonal charms.

This boy's name was Khalil Anuri, and while he had a home in the north eastern mountains near the kingdom of Seven, he was currently a drifter, with a brown leather backpack strapped over one shoulder, his newly bought fishing equipment in his hand. He was currently in the town of Sorrel, which was a coastal town with a few docks, though the town mostly profited off of fishing and some various plants. He had been traveling for about five months now and hadn't really found much of anything that he was looking for. However, he was a play by ear type of boy, so it didn't matter to him.

Right now, he was intent on going fishing in one of the rivers that was near Sorrel, as he preferred river fishing, so he was walking from the beach to the busy stone streets of the town, which consisted of gray brick roads and stone buildings with colorful awnings. The streets were lined with vendors that shouted out the products that they were selling and the discounts they were willing to give.

Khalil ignored all of the voices and kept his eyes in front of him. His narrowed eyes sparkled with cheer and he walked with a bit of confidence, or he did until he saw a group congregated a few feet ahead and heard the sounds of a woman screaming. His eyes widened and he sprinted forward and began to peer over people. Something was going on down an alleyway, but between the lighting in said alleyway being subpar and his average height not allowing him to see over some of the tall, beefy sailors of the town, he couldn't tell what was going on.

"PLEASE! HELP! HE'S GETTING AWAY!" A woman from within the alley pleaded loudly, her voice wretched by tears. No one in the crowd seemed to make a move, though glances and solemn words were exchanged.

Khalil found himself pushing past the crowd and making his way to the front before he knew what he was doing. He saw a man in black running up the side-steps of one of the buildings at a quick pace. He had a small child with him, who was screaming "MOMMYYY!" as she was carried away. He also saw the source of the woman's voice, which was a highly pregnant woman who had tears streaming down her face.

Khalil darted forward and dropped his bags in front of the woman. "I've got this, lady," he said. He then plucked one of the charms from his bangle, flipping it into the air. As it rotated, he called out, "Gate of the Rabbit: I call upon thee to lend me your power!" A golden circle appeared around the coin and then he was shot with a blast of golden magic. When the light faded away, he had large, golden, ethereal rabbit ears, feet and a tail and the charm was gone.

The woman looked almost doubtful seeing a grown man with bunny ears, but she nodded at him, sniffling.

"Yah!" Khalil cried, the ground around him cracking as he bounced into the air, landing on the rail a few feet from the crook.

The man, who had most of his features hidden in black, turned and glared. He then held his palm forward and shot a condensed blast of wind at Khalil before turning to run some more.

"Whoop!" Khalil jumped into the air. "Not gonna hit me in my bunny form, buddy," he commented, rolling in air and landing on the roof, where the crook was now running quickly, obviously using his wind magic to accelerate himself. Khalil dashed at extreme speed, his arms behind his back as he ran. It only took him a few seconds to catch up and grab the child from the robber, tucking the tiny girl under one arm.

The man twisted around and fired four blasts of air at Khalil in succession.

Khalil jumped to dodge the first one, sidestepped from the second one, and then found the third one colliding into his side. He grimaced in pain, glad that the child had been protected by his body. He sat down the child and turned to her. "Can you stay right here? Don't move…?" he asked in a sweet voice.

"Okay, Mr. Bunny man!" the little girl responded, beaming up at him with large green eyes and chubby, tear-stained cheeks.

"Alright!" Khalil said, spinning around to see the crook running away once again. "Psh… I'ma make you fear the bunny!" he teased, dashing forward. It once again took him no time at all to catch up to the man, but he didn't expect the man to pull out a large whip and attempt to crack it across his face. He barely managed to duck from the whip and he was pretty sure by the ghostly tinge of pain on his head that his bunny ears had taken the blow.

"What the hell are you doing, rabbit?!" the man hissed. "You got the damn kid, now leave me the hell alone!"

"Nah," Khalil responded, darting forward and flipping over the man's head. He then twisted in mid-air and rabbit-kicked the man in the back, a few small cracks forming in the roof as the man was slammed to the ground.

He coughed and rolled back over, his reaction time a bit faster than what Khalil expected as a magic circle appeared in between the two men, a cyclone whipping up in a mere second or so. He grinned through the blood the dribbled from the side of his mouth as Khalil let out a surprise yelp and was flung from the building by the wind.

"Dammit, dammit, dammit!" Khalil cursed as he fell, trying to twist himself in the air so that he wouldn't land in a painful position. However, his efforts fell, as he landed on his back in the streets of Sorrel. "Ghhh…." He wheezed, one eye closing tightly as he winced. He ignored the stares of passers-by and pulled himself to his elbows, coughing as he struggled for air. He saw the man on the roof, running for the little girl again, and he scowled. "Bastard…" he hissed, forcing himself to his feet. He then took a running start and then bounded into the air, landing on the building in between the man and the girl.

"How the hell are you back?!" the man questioned, anger and desperation in his voice, his dark green eyes narrowing.

"I've got my ways," Khalil responded with a shrug. Before the man could question it further, he was in the man's face, his fist colliding with the black mask that covered his cheeks.

The man stumbled back, but before he could recuperate at all, Khalil kicked him in the stomach with one powerful foot and then swiveled around behind him, swiping the whip from his side as he did so. Khalil then grabbed the man by his arm and bounced into the air, putting distance in between the crook and the child. "Cha!" he cried as he threw the man to the ground, boosting off of him with his feet. He winced as he saw the roof crack a couple of small holes forming as chunks of stone fell from it. He didn't like being destructive; didn't really have the money to pay for it.

The man rolled over, now covered in dust that had been created from the stone roof in the impact and reached for his whip, grabbing everywhere on his left hip. He then began to frantically grab at his left hip, only to find nothing.

"Hehe. Bested at your own game, eh?" Khalil asked, waving the whip around, a lopsided smirk on his face.

"Little bitch…." The man growled. He then threw both of his hands forward and shot out a cone shaped burst of wind at Khalil.

However, this time, the bunny man was ready, so he jumped into the air, and landed right in front of the man. He reached down and pulled the man to his feet. "So… Wanna call it quits?" he asked.

He could tell the man was scowling under his mask. "I'll destroy you, you little bastard…" he snarled.

"Oh… That's too bad…" Khalil fake whimpered, pouting at the man. "I'm a really nice guy, y'know?"

The man attempted to throw a punch at Khalil, who caught his fist in his hand. The man's eyes widened and he looked to Khalil, who was smirking.

"You know, you're not even worth a serious fight," he pointed out. He then punched the guy in the face, aiming for the cheek that wasn't already bruised by his earlier punch. When the man stumbled back, Khalil grabbed his shoulder and spun him around, wrapping the whip around him and then tying it with quickness. "Game. Over…" Khalil said in a mockingly deep voice. He then proceeded to drag the man in the direction of the alleyway, oblivious to his cursing, screaming and spitting at him.

"Oh, right," Khalil mumbled under his breath. "Gate of the Rabbit: I thank thee for the blessing!" A golden magic circle appeared over Khalil's head and after his rabbit features disappeared, the charm fell from the sky. Khalil caught it, flipped it like a coin, caught it again, and then placed it back in his bangle.

He stopped when he made it to the little girl and smiled down at her. "I'ma take you back to your mama, 'kay?" he said, extending a hand.

The tiny girl hugged herself and peered over at the man that Khalil was dragging, worry in her eyes.

"Don't worry 'bout him," Khalil said in a reassuring voice. "I'll protect you."

"You're not a bunny man anymore," the girl pointed out, though she had stepped closer to the side of Khalil where the man wasn't, reaching up and grasping the cloth that was around his waist with one tiny hand.

"Sure I am!" Khalil responded with a huge grin. "I can just hide my ears sometimes."

"Oh," the little girl said with a small pout. "Did you win, Mr. Bunny Man?" she asked.

"Yep."

"Yay!"

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><p>When Khalil made it back to the alleyway, a few town guards were there, comforting the pregnant woman. They were dressed in green clothing with brown leather armor that was reinforced with bits of iron in more vital areas. When the little girls saw her mother, she broke away from Khalil and ran to her, jumping into her arms.<p>

"The bunny man saved me, Mommy!" she cheered excitedly, pointing back to Khalil, who had already walked over to the guards and turned the man and was now chatting with them.

"Did he now…?" the woman asked, now wiping the tears from her eyes. She stood and hobbled over to the guards and Khalil, holding tightly onto her daughter's hand.

The guards bid Khalil a good day when the woman came over and then went about their day. Khalil turned to them and grinned. "Heya," he greeted.

"Thank you so much young man for helping my dear Meiko," the woman said, pulling her child in front of her and running her hands through her hair.

"No problem, madam," Khalil responded with a small nod. "I like helpin' people," he said with a small laugh.

"We need more people like you in the world," the woman responded, returning his smile with her own small, nervous smile. "T-to be honest, I was a little worried when I saw your magic." She said with a tiny laugh. She was nervously messing with Meiko's hair.

She seemed a bit surprised when Khalil chuckled. "Yeah. I get that sometimes," he said. It was true. He had helped quite a few people in his times traveling, and any time he used the Gate of the Rabbit, which was his main charm, people seemed doubtful. He found it fun to pummel people to the ground looking like a bunny though.

"Anyway, later!" he said with a small wave, picking up his backpack, placing his fishing gear in his backpack and picking it up, throwing one strap over his shoulder. He began to walk away, grinning from ear to ear when he heard the woman and child continue to repeat their thanks to him.

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><p>The sun had made its way across most of the sky when Khalil made it to the shore of the river that was near Sorrel. He promptly found a bank that was covered in lush green grass and dropped his backpack on the ground. He crouched and pulled out a fishing pole that was capable of collapsing down and the gear that he had purchased from Sorrel. After quickly setting up his rod with a line and a hook that was baited with a cricket, he stood, cast his line to the middle of the river, and then sat down, his legs stretched in front of him.<p>

This was what most of his time was consumed by. He traveled in the early morning, making an effort to plan out which water sources he would stop at by reading the map in his backpack, and then he spent a lot of time being lazy and fishing. Sometimes, he would stumble across baddies who were tormenting people and he would take them down, and once, he had even helped a mages guild called Blue Pegasus to track down a small dark guild. They had asked him to join up with them, but he had declined. He had no real interest in becoming part of a guild; he was a wanderer and until he saw most of Fiore and then maybe even the neighboring kingdoms, he really didn't have much of an urge to settle down anywhere. The longest he had stayed in any one town was when he got to the base of the mountain, in which he stayed in a town for about two weeks, helping to take down a band of thieves that kept raiding the place.

There was a small splash as the bobber sunk into the water and Khalil's thoughts flashed into the real world. He hopped to his feet and began to reel the fish in, pulling on the pole and then letting lose when he felt the tension in the line become too much. When the fish finally burst from the water, he grinned up at the large carp that flew into the air. He backed up and caught it, holding it in both arms as it flopped. He then dropped it on the bank and pulled a small hunting knife from the side of his back, promptly ending the fish's life.

He then walked over to the river and began to collect large rocks, fashioning them into a small fire pit on the bank. He gathered some twigs from a nearby cluster of trees and once that was complete, he pulled a box of matches from his pack, lighting one and throwing it onto the leaves. He then set up the fish with another set of branches so that it was held over the fire. He pulled a small bag that was full of small containers of spices and seasoned his meal.

After all of this was complete, he plopped back into the grass and watched the sky, which was now bathed in purples, pinks and blues. He found himself fixated on the clouds above, not even hearing the rustling that was coming from the trees where he had gathered his sticks. He didn't pay any mind to anything until he heard a high pitched voice.

"Hand over the fish or face my doom!" the voice yelled. It was loud and sounded like it may be coming from a child.

Khalil sat up and looked over to the woods where an orange tabby Exceed was standing. This Exceed had large, bright orange eyes, a pink nose and a white chest and paws. He was dressed in what looked to be a tiny astronaut outfit and his right paw had a mini alien-blaster styled gun in it. His eyes were narrowed and he had the gun aimed at Khalil.

"Um, what?" Khalil stared at the Exceed, arching a brow and watching him.

"Y-you heard me!" the Exceed snapped, though his hand had begun to shake. "I just want the fish!"

"I can share it with you," Khalil offered. "It's not done yet, though," he said, after examining it. "I'll catch some more if you want, too," he added with a small shrug.

"You'll share with me?" the Exceed asked, dropping his gun to his side and approaching slowly, cautiously.

"Yep, just come have a seat," Khalil responded, patting the ground beside him. "This is too much for me to eat in one sitting anyway."

The Exceed walked over to him and sat down, his eyes still on him. "M-my name's Blaster," he introduced himself.

"I'm Khalil," Khalil responded with a small wave. "What's an Exceed doing with your getup and stuff? Or really out here at all?" The only Exceeds Khalil had ever seen were those who belonged to the slayers, which he had seen on the TV lacrima, and the one that had been with Blue Pegasus when he had helped them. He always figured Exceeds sought out human companionship.

Blaster's eyes fell to the ground. "I…I got lost a long time ago… Probably a year ago…." He said, frowning. "My old friend taught me how to shoot my gun, though, so I can sometimes shoot down birds… And sometimes people in towns are nice enough to feed me." He turned the gun over in his hand and then let out a long sigh. "The lacrima in my gun is empty. I wouldn't have been able to shoot you if I wanted to."

"Ah… Sorry 'bout that," Khalil responded, his eyes falling to the ground. He then perked up. "Yo, if you want, you can totally travel with me. We'll get ya a lacrima and maybe find your friend one day," he offered. Normally, he probably wouldn't be so trusting to a human, but Blaster was a small Exceed and he felt bad for him. Besides, it wasn't like an Exceed could probably do much of anything to him.

Blaster looked up at him with large, curious eyes. "Erm… You wouldn't mind helping me?" he asked in a small voice.

"Nah," Khalil responded with a small shake to his head. He then began to take the fish from the fire, using the hunting knife to divide it into two portions, giving handing Blaster his portion. "It's hot," he warned.

Blaster seemed to juggle the fish for a moment and then, when it cooled just a bit, he took a large bite out of his. "Derishus!" he purred through a full mouth.

"Mrmhm," Khalil agreed through a full mouth of his own. He was glad to have a companion, even if there was a possibility of it only being for a little while. He had been alone for months, at least when he wasn't helping people, and the thought of having someone to talk to thrilled him.

Once they were done eating, Khalil flopped back in the grass, resting his head on his arms. Night was setting in and at that moment, he was debating on whether or not they should travel some or just laze around. He voted for the latter, but of course, he wanted to see what Blaster wanted. He looked over though, to find that the Exceed had found his way to his backpack and was curled up on top of his backpack, asleep. He bit his lip, wondering if he should trust the cat near his pack. After a moment, he decided that he was a light sleeper and would just stay close to make sure he didn't try to run off with it.

The fire was dying down when Khalil looked at it, so with a yawn, he rolled over onto his side, resting on his arm and drifted off into a light sleep under the stars.

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><p><em><strong>Author's Note:<strong>__ Short stating chapter. Hope you enjoyed. Khalil and Blaster are brand new characters that belong to me and I don't feel as though I'm used to writing them at all, but it will get better. Oh, and for those who read Silver Griffin, I should be able to get that chapter up on Tuesday at the latest. :D _

_Please keep in mind that this is my side works, just to practice some various writing things and as such, won't be updated quite as often. Also, the chapters may not be as long as compared to Silver Griffin. ^^;_

_Khalil's magic and Blaster's design are ideas from my fiancé. Blaster is based off of my kitty in real life. 3 He really is orange tabby with orange eyes, but he sadly, does not have a space suit, yet. _

_OC submission is closed._


	2. Chapter 2

_**Author's Note:**__ Heya, guys~ Enjoy the chapter. The arcs are on my profile now if you wanna take a look, though I won't be putting any details until closer to the arc. If you wanna guess which arc belongs to your OC, feel free to. _

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><p><strong>June 19<strong>**th****, X792**

Khalil's eyes dropped to the ground and he let out a sigh after examining the small coin pouch that he kept at his side. Broke. He hadn't expected a lacrima for Blaster's gun to cost so much, but he didn't want to hurt the Exceed's feelings by refusing to buy him one. Now, he had an awesome sidekick-like Exceed, but no money. He could fish for his food, so that wasn't a concern, but money was still appreciated for times when he wanted to stay in an inn or wasn't near a body of water to fish in.

Two weeks had passed since the celestial mage had met Blaster the Exceed, and now they found themselves in a town called Haybale, which was a small country town, a day or so away from one the largest river in northern Fiore, and a few days by train away from the legal guild Blue Pegasus. As such, the town was pretty busy with travelers, so maybe they would be able to find some little odd job to be able to do.

After looking around, Khalil found a tavern known as Golden Grubs. He wrinkled his nose as he could smell the alcohol from outside. However, in towns that didn't have guilds, it was fairly common for people to post missions for travelers to take. He doubted that there would be much, with Blue Pegasus being so close, but maybe he would be able to get lucky after all.

"What are we doing, Khalil?" Blaster asked when Khalil placed a hand on the door to the log-cabin styled building. The orange Exceed had been resting on Khalil's head, having started to complain about walking once they reached town.

"Lookin' for work," Khalil responded, walking into the Golden Grubs tavern and wincing as the stench of alcohol, cigarette smoke, fire smoke and food filled his lungs. Blaster started coughing and Khalil weaved his way through the crowded, dimly lit building to a board that was posted in the back, near the fireplace, ignoring all the ruckus that filled his ears. Before he could start looking at the board, he was approached by a barmaid.

"Welcome to Golden Grubs, hun. The best grain based alcohol and eats in all of north Fiore," she said, her voice raspy. Khalil turned to see a woman who was a bit shorter than him with dishwater hair that was tied into a messy bun, bright green eyes and tanned skin. She was dressed in a simple beige dress that hung from her shoulders, revealing a huge amount of cleavage, and fell to ground around her feet. While her chest was definitely appealing to the eyes, her face was covered with what looked to be about two inches of makeup, unsuccessfully masking the wrinkles around her mouth and eyes. Her lips were painted bright red and it was obvious that she had painted her lips to make them look fuller. To someone who was drunk, she was probably knock-out, not that it mattered to a dimwit like Khalil either way.

He smiled at her. "Heya," he greeted with a small wave. "I can't afford food and I don't drink. I was just wonderin' if you know of any help that's needed around town?"

"Well, we've got a few requests here and there," she responded. "I think we've been getting a few more since Blue Pegasus is preparing for the Grand Magic Games."

"It's almost July?" Khalil questioned. He was relieved to hear that there were some requests, but he was distracted by hearing of the Grand Magic Games. He had considered traveling to Crocus to watch them, but figured there would be some hella fees since he wasn't affiliated with a guild of any sort. Not that it mattered anyway. He was terrible at keeping up with the date and would probably completely forget about them.

"Yep. It's the middle of June," the woman responded, looking at him as though he may be stupid. Not that he realized that. "Well, just tell me if you need anything, hun. We offer free water to weary travelers, if you need it."

"'Kay," Khalil responded. He then turned around and started looking over the pieces of paper that were posted on the board, trying to find something that suited him. His eyes eventually landed on a mission that spoke of escorted some goods from the river to the city, stating that some shipments would be coming in over the next few weeks and mages were always wanted to aid in the protection of caravans. Sounded fun. He reached up to take it, but stopped as another hand reached for it as well.

Khalil looked over to see a male that was at least a few inches taller than him, dressed in a simple gray shirt and black pants. The man had silver hair that was messy and swept to the left side of his head, held away from his face a bit by a yellow bandana that was wrapped around his forehead. He had a narrow jaw and his skin looked a bit tanned.

Khalil's brown eyes met the sharp, hazel eyes of the man and he grinned. "Sorry 'bout that!" he said with a small laugh.

"Ah, no problem!" the man responded, returning the grin with a lopsided grin of his own. He then looked back to the mission. "You a mage?" he asked curiously.

"Yep!" Khalil responded, holding up his bangle. "The best celestial mage around!"

"Yeah, don't mess with us!" Blaster chimed in, standing tall on Khalil's head, though it only made in about an inch taller than the man.

"Don't mind him," Khalil said with a small laugh, patting Blaster's head. "He tries to be scary."

The man laughed and took the mission notice. After a moment of reading over it, he shrugged his shoulder. "You were interested in this, right?"

"Yep, but it's cool. I'm not too particular on my missions," Khalil said with a small wave of his hand.

"Why don't we take it together?" the man asked.

"Sure!" Khalil responded after a moment of hesitation. While he wasn't the most trusting of people, especially since he now noticed the two crossed weapons on the man's back, but whatever. He needed the money and that mission seemed like the shortest mission that called for mages.

"We're gonna do a mage's mission?" Blaster asked. He had never been on a mission and it sounded important. He liked being important.

"Yep," Khalil responded. "Oh, and I'm Khalil, and this is my buddy, Blaster," he introduced himself.

"The name's Duren, and you'll meet my crew when we get out of this stench-hole," the other man introduced himself.

With that, the two men walked out of the tavern and back onto the busy noon streets of Haybale. Duren led them over to the backside of the tavern, where a large brown horse with a black mane and black fur around his hooves and a petite young lady waited.

The girl was leaning against the horse. She had yellow hair that was pulled into a curly mess of a ponytail with a red ribbon and large, round green eyes that were bright and sparkly. Her skin was pale and her thin, slightly curvy body was dressed in a blue frilly dress with lighter blue accents under a white jacket, along with white stockings and blue flats. She looked to be a few years younger than the other male, by the lack of curves and rather child-like face.

"Khalil, this is Melody, my sister, and Albarn, my horse," Duren introduced both of them with a grin. "Meet Khalil and Blaster, you two."

Albarn let out a small huff and dug one of his hooves into the ground, shaking his head and Melody smiled kindly.

"Pleased to meet you," Melody said with a small bow of her head. She then turned to Duren. "Are they going to be traveling with us, brother?"

"Yep, just for the mission," Duren responded. He then turned to Khalil. "Do you live around here or have a means of travel?" he asked.

"Nah, I don't live around here," Khalil responded. "And if we need to move fast, I have my ways."

"Okay, then. Shall we be off?" Duren asked, hoisting Melody onto Albarn before climbing on and grabbing the reigns of the horse, his legs nestled in between the saddle bags that hung at the horse's sides.

"Yep."

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><p>They first had to meet with a representative of the company that was bringing the shipments so that he could relay the message that mages would be on the way. The representative was staying at an inn and not long after asking for him, they met with him. He was a tall, lanky man with dark hair and dark eyes that were hidden behind thin, rectangular glasses. He was dressed in a white button up t-shirt and black slacks. When he saw Melody, Khalil and Duren, he arched a thin brow at them, pushing his glasses up on his nose.<p>

"Are you sure that you are capable of protecting this caravan from bandits?" he asked in a voice that came out almost like a purr. "As more shipments pour in, more thugs flood the area. This is not even close to the first shipment, so the mission will not be easy."

"Not a problem for us!" Duren responded in a reassuring voice, flashing the man a thumb's up. "We'll send those thugs flying!"

"Yeah, you can count on us!" Khalil agreed. He was curious to know what type of magic Duren used, but his guess was that it had something to do with the spears on his back.

"Khalil and I are the best fighters ever!" Blaster said, holding up his gun and grinning broadly.

"Are you three from a guild?" the man asked, ignoring Blaster.

Duren and Khalil exchanged looks and both said in unison, "Nope."

There was a subtle twitch in the eyebrow of the man and he let out a sigh, pushing up his glasses again. "So… None of you have any credibility?"

Both of the men sweat-dropped, and Melody let out a small sigh.

"If you wanted someone credible, wouldn't you have posted in one of the legal guilds?" Khalil asked, tucking his arms behind his head. "I mean… You posted in a tavern where lots of travelers pass by, so surely you would expect someone like a group of traveling mages."

The man scowled at Khalil. "I guess that would be correct. Blue Pegasus is the only legal guild that's worth anything, and their last mission with us didn't go well… Something about some of the guards being female…." He mumbled the last part under his breath.

"There are going to be women?" Duren asked, his eyes lighting up.

Melody let out an aspirated sigh and rolled her eyes.

"That is beside the point!" the client snapped.

Melody pinched the bridge of her nose, a vein swelling on her forehead.

"Just trust us… We can get this done with no problem at all!" Khalil insisted, noticing the air of anger that was filling the room.

"Fine!" the man hissed. "I'm going to inform the ship that's coming in that you all should be there in by the morning of the 21st. I'll keep the mission posted in case you three don't show up!"

"Yeah!" Khalil cheered, bumping knuckles with Duren.

"We won't let you down!" the men said in unison.

* * *

><p>They left town not long after that, with Duren and Melody riding on Albarn and Khalil walking quickly beside them, Blaster still on his head.<p>

"How do you walk so much, Khalil?" Blaster complained. That was literally what their time consisted of most of the days. A lot of walking and then some breaks to fish or go to sleep. Though he had his moments of energy, he couldn't walk nearly as much as Khalil could.

"I don't know… What else is there to do?" Khalil asked. "There isn't a train and even there was, we're too broke to afford it right now."

"So, do you just drift around or something?" Duren asked, looking down at the violet haired man.

"Pretty much," Khalil responded. "I like traveling. I want to see all of Fiore… Or something like that…" He was silent before admitting, "I don't really have any goals in life," with a small laugh.

"So you're not from around here?" Duren asked.

"Nah. I'm from the mountains east of here. I've been traveling for quite a few months, but when I was in the mountains, traveling was kinda slow," Khalil explained. "What about you two? Anything interesting?"

"Nah… Nothing much," Duren said in a slightly low voice. "Pretty much the same of you. The country of Fiore is beautiful and we want to see more of it."

Melody's eyes had been on Blaster as they spoke. After a moment of making a humming noise as she tried to think of how to word her sentence, she asked, "Are you a dragon slayer?" She had seen some shops and advertisements around since she and her brother had been traveling, and she knew that Exceeds and dragon slayers seemed to go hand-in-hand.

Khalil gave her a look of confusion. He then thought for a moment and laughed lightly. "Nope. I'm a Celestial Spirit mage. I met Blaster a few weeks ago."

"I got lost from my old friend a long time ago," Blaster explained, a bit of sadness sparking in his orange eyes. He then cheered up a bit. "But I've found Khalil now, and we'll find my old friend one day."

"I like the optimism, orange buddy," Duren said with a huge grin on his face.

"What sorts of spirits do you summon?" Melody asked.

"Eastern Zodiac," Khalil responded, holding up his bangle. "I only got three charms right now, though. I guess that's one reason I'm drifting about. It'd be hella awesome to find the other ones."

"That sounds really neat~ Can we meet the spirits?" Melody asked. She had read of Celestial mages and how their magic worked.

"Erm… Sure! I'll let you meet them!" he responded with a grin. He then plucked the rabbit charm out first. "Gate of the Rabbit: I summon thee to this world!" he called as he flipped the charm into a golden circle.

With a bright flash of light, a girl appeared, landing on Khalil while cheering his name. She looked mostly human, with large white bunny ears, a huge white bunny tail and large bunny feet that lacked shoes. She was dressed in a hot pink, mid-drift t-shirt and a white and pink flannel pleated skirt. She had pale skin and her feet, all the way up to her knees were covered in white fur, an extremely curvy body, black hair styled in a pixie cut and large, charcoal eyes that shined down upon Khalil. "Do you wanna play today, Khalil?" she asked, her words quick, almost forming one giant word as opposed to a sentence. She bounced around for a moment, until she saw Duren and Melody. "HI! Did Khalil get more companions? That's so awesome! I'm Bi and Khalil and I are totally bestest friends! I hope we can be bestest friends, too!"

Duren and Melody jumped off of Albarn and Duren smiled brightly at the small girl. "Why, hello, miss," he practically purred, taking Bi's hand and kissing it. "I'm Duren and this is my sister Melody."

Bi giggled at Duren and then turned to Melody. "Hiya! It's so so awesome to meet new people!"

"Hi!" Melody said with a small smile.

Bi then turned to Khalil. "Why did you call me to this world, master? Is it a play date? Oh please tell me we can play hide-and-seek or something!"

Khalil chuckled. "I just called you here to meet these two. I'm gonna call Na and Gi, too!"

"Oh, not Na!" Bi pouted, stomping the ground, which vibrated slightly under her giant feet. "She's so mean! I'm going back if she's gonna be here!" And with that, she was gone in a puff of light and smoke, the charm falling from the sky into Khalil's hand.

"Sorry about that… I don't know why they hate each other," Khalil said, rubbing the back of his head. With that, he removed the next charm and flipped into the air. "Gate of the Snake: I summon thee to this world!"

Within a flash of light, a woman with the lower body of a snake appeared. Her skin was light green in color, and when the light hits some parts of her body, the green and black scales could be seen. She had dark green hair that was in dreads, and pulled in a high ponytail on top her head. She had sharp facial features and her eyes were oval and snake-like, but bright green in color. Her lips were full and purple and her ears were slightly pointed. The only clothing she wore was a white cloth wrapped around her small bosom. With a hiss, her slit tongue lashing against her lips, she slithered over to Khalil and wrapped around him, her upper body pressing to his. "What issss thisssss? To what do I owe the honor of you calling upon me, Khalil?" she spoke in a low, seductive tone, running her long, pale green fingers over Khalil's cheek.

Khalil seemed completely unfazed by her motions and instead grinned. "Na, I want you to meet Duren and Melody! They wanted to meet you!"

Na looked to Duren and Melody and her eyes narrowed when she noticed how Melody was now hiding behind Duren, her face even paler than normal. "Are you afraid of ssssnakkkess, little girl?" she hissed, slithering forward, crossing her arms over her chest.

Melody swallowed and stood up straight. It wasn't that she was scared of snakes. She didn't like them, and a giant snake woman made it far worse. "No," she responded in small voice.

Na arched a brow and tongue ran over her lips. "That'sssss good," she mumbled. She then bended over so that she was in Melody's face. "Jusssssst sssssooooo you know, Khalil issss mine… I don't take kindly to him traveling with ssssome ssssort of harlequin…."

"Hey! Don't talk to my sister that way!" Duren butted in, annoyance in his voice.

Na looked over at him, amusement sparkling in her eyes. "Ssssomeone who daressss talk back?" she mused. She then coiled around Duren, who now had his hands on the weapons on his back. "One bite from a sssnake can be sssso deadly…" She hissed, her tongue lashing against Duren's neck.

Whist his face turned a bit red, Duren removed one of the spears from his back, a short, golden spear with a silver ring on the end of it. It was loosely wrapped in a purple cloth of some sort. He readied it to attack, but Na vanished in a puff of light, causing Duren to stumble forward. He placed the spear on his back again and turned to Khalil with question in eyes.

"I unsummoned her," Khalil responded, placing the charm back in his bangle. "Sorry about that. She's kinda weird," he said, sweat-dropping. Finally, he took the third charm from his bangle and flipped it into the air. "Gate of the Pig: I summon thee to this world!" he called.

A chubby woman who stood a couple of inches taller than Melody appeared. She had slightly pink skin, a pig snout, ears and a curly little tail that poked out of a hole in her purple and pink floral patterned dress, which fell to her feet. She had curly orange hair on the top of her head, but it was mostly covered by a floral bonnet that matched her dress. She was a middle-aged woman with a bright smile under snout. "Dearest Khalil! What do you need today, my love?" she asked, patting him on the head when she saw him.

"Good morning, Ms. Gi," Khalil said with a grin. "I wanted you to meet Melody and Duren!"

Gi turned to Duren and Melody and clapped her hands together, letting out something that sounded like a happy snort-oink. "They're both so cute! I'm so happy that you've made friends, Khalil!" she said.

"Thanks," Duren and Melody said together, both of the siblings laughing lightly at the pig woman's reaction to them.

"Is this all that you needed, Khalil?" the woman asked. "I'm cooking back in the spirit world, so I do need to get back to that! I'm not used to being called from the world like that!"

"Okay, bye, Ms. Gi!" Khalil said with a wave, catching her charm as it fell from the sky. He then turned to Duren and Melody. "Well, those are the spirits that I've met so far. I've known Bi the longest!"

"I really think it would be fun to play with Bi," Melody said with a small giggle. "She seemed really happy!"

"I think it would be fun to play with her, too," Duren added in, though he mumbled something about playing with her differently under his breath, causing Melody to punch him in the arm, glaring at him.

"She's really fun to play hide-and-seek with, but she cheats!" Blaster said, crossing his arms in a pouty manner.

"She can't help it that she's fast," Khalil defended her. "You just gotta trick her. Hide while you're chasing her after you've found her!" He then turned to Duren. "What about your magic? Those spears look pretty interesting. And what about you, Melody?"

"The spears are heirlooms. They're just really strong," Duren explained, his eyes shifting as he spoke. "One attacks magic while the other just attacks."

"I don't use magic," Melody admitted, tucking her arms behind her back and kicking at the dirt.

"Oh, sounds awesome! We should spar or something after this mission, Duren!" Khalil said with a grin.

"I'm game!" Duren said with a smirk.

* * *

><p>The group continued their travels, having to stop for the night, Melody cooking up a meal with the rations that she and Duren had. They awoke early in the morning and made it to the river by midday, where a ship was anchored near the banks, a crew of people unloading various goods into a couple of caravans.<p>

They had been informed before leaving the client to ask for a man named Yorin when they arrived, so they approached the crew and did just that. They were directed to the man with a clipboard that was checking things off as they were carried out of the boat. When he saw the group approaching, he arched a brow.

"Are you the mages that are supposed to guard the caravans this time?" he asked. He was a tall man with broad shoulders, white hair that was parted to the side and slicked, and a large white mustache that covered his lips. His eyes were bright purple and his brows were bushy, giving him a naturally angry face. He was dressed in brown and beige striped shirt, brown slacks and dress shoes.

"Yessir!" Melody, Khalil and Duren said in unison.

"Don't look like much," he mumbled. "Oh, well… At least you're not those frilly boys from that Pegasus guild." He then looked to the caravans. "Go ahead and help gather some of the boxes in the cargo up. Any of the ones with the bright blue star need to be loaded up. Leave the rest."

The group agreed and after a few minutes, the caravans were loaded. Yorin approached the group and said, "I want you three in front of the caravans at all time. Keep a good look-out. Do not fail us, please!"

"Yessir!" they responded.

With that, the caravans set out on the path that was in an opposite direction that the group had come from. "Wait, where are we going?" Duren asked.

"We're going to Mimosa. It's easier to recruit mages from smaller towns like Haybale because they won't attempt to travel the paths that the thugs are on," one of the drivers of the caravans explained. "We'll have to travel late into the night, so be prepared to be awake for a while."

While Blaster grumbled, none of the other members of the group felt bothered by this. They fell into silence for a few moments, though it was short lived when Duren noticed that the driver of the second caravan was female.

The woman had her hair covered in a helmet, and was dressed in a long sleeved shirt that was dark blue in color, under an iron breastplate. There was a mask on her lower face that matched her shirt. She looked sort of like a guard or a night and her piercing, pale silver eyes were on the road in front of her. When Duren walked over so that he was walking as close to her as possible, she didn't even bother to take her eyes off of the road.

"Hello, there, beauty," Duren said, giving her a charming smile. "What's someone as stunning as you doing covering so much of your face up?" he asked.

"Avoiding perverts like you," she responded in a flat voice.

Duren sweat-dropped, black lines appearing on his forehead and his eyes narrowed when he heard Melody-who was still on the back of Albarn, giggling. As if to confirm that they're conversation was over, the woman steered the horses that were pulling the caravan away from Duren.

"Sorry about my brother," Melody said to the caravan driver. "He thinks he's a charmer," she said with a small laugh, receiving a snort from the woman.

The defeated man looked around, sad that there were no more women in the area and then returned to Khalil's side. He didn't want to ride on Albarn because if something did come up, he wanted to be able to jump right into fighting. Albarn had long since been trained to run if Melody was in danger, so he wasn't worried with his sister's safety.

Khalil didn't really pay much mind to Duren's little fail attempt at flirting. He was watching the woods that were to the right of their path and the clearing that was to the left of them, though he was mostly watching the woods, as he assumed that that would be where the threats would be coming from. And sure enough, he was right, though it didn't happen for a while.

* * *

><p>The sun had already vanished when a rustle came from the trees and all at once, a bunch of cloaked figures jumped out. Their cloaks were dark camouflage as to blend in with the forest and the shadows and they instantly shot out spiked whips at the wheels of the caravans.<p>

Duren grinned and reacted with haste, pulling the blood red spear that was wrapped loosely in white cloth from his back and holding it horizontally to block the whips that were aimed at one caravan. "Keep the horses under control!" he barked behind him when he was nearly stomped by a startled horse, having to dart to the side to avoid it.

Khalil pulled two curved daggers from his boots when he heard the rustling. They had golden handles and silver blades that were engraved with black swirls. He hopped into the air and slashed all of the whips that were aimed at the other caravan. He had intentions of landing on top of the caravan when he landed, but since the horses were spooked and the caravan was jerked to the left, he landed with one foot on it, the other foot landing on nothing. Letting out a small yelp of surprise, he slipped and fell, landing on his back. Seeing a bunch of the hooded figures running towards him, he grabbed the charm of the snake and flipped it into the air, "Gate of the Snake: I call upon thee to lend me your power!" he shouted quickly.

Just as the enemies approached him, his body was bathed in golden scales and after a moment, he vanished. He rolled to the side and hopped to his feet, his eyes falling to his daggers, which were now glowing, though no one could see this.

Sometime during this time, Duren had used Requip magic to change into a skin-tight, sleeveless, red, mid-drift shirt, matching red pants, the same black shoes, and black arm-warmers that stopped above his elbows. He took advantage of the enemy's confusion with Khalil's vanishing and came up behind them, slashing and stabbing at them with his spear, knocking them to the ground with ease. He then spun around sharply and saw a few of the enemies on top of the caravans. He was about to attack them, but suddenly, they began to fall, their bodies letting out odd yellow sparkles as they seemed to gasp for air.

Khalil grinned as he made small wounds in the enemies that he fought, making them fall to the ground, poisoned. The Gate of the Snake had the shortest duration of his magic, but it gave him the power to stealth and poison his foes, a poison that wasn't lethal in small doses, but was quite crippling. Standing on top of the caravan, he turned just in time to see a blast of dark magic being fired from a small magical gun that one of the enemies had.

Duren quickly pulled out his other spear, the one he was about to use on Na when he met her, and shot forward, slashing at the magic and dispelling it in a burst of dark dust.

"So awesome!" Khalil cheered, his stealth ending. He caught the charm, put his blades away, and flipped the pig charm into the air. "Gate of the Pig: I call upon thee to lend me your power!" With that, he gained an ethereal golden pig snout and tail. "Hyaaaa!" he shouted as he jumped into the air. His entire body glowed as he crashed into the enemies hard, causing the entire ground to crack and rumble.

The enemy that had fired earlier managed to jump away from the now heavier Khalil as he landed and he was about to fire another shot at Duren, but found himself being shot in the back by Blaster's ray gun, the orange magic bursting against him. Blaster was hovering over the scene with his wings, armed and ready to fight. "Don't mess with us!" he cheered, firing at another enemy who had jumped, aiming at him with a whip. While he managed to knock the enemy back, the whip still collided with him hard, knocking him from the air with a cry of pain.

Melody reacted to this, snapping Albarn's reigns, causing the horse to gallop forward. She caught Blaster as he fell and then Albarn turned sharply and rand back to the caravans, which were now a few feet away from the fight as Duren and Khalil pushed the enemies back. "Are you okay?" Melody asked.

"Yeah," Blaster responded, wiping the blood from his cheek. His wings had disappeared and there was a cut on his cheek. "Thanks," he added.

"Nice job, Mel!" Khalil called back to Melody with a grin. He then swiveled around and drop-kicked an enemy that was trying to blind-side him, amplifying the force in his leg as he did so.

"Thank you!" Melody responded. "Tear them to shreds, you two!" she cheered.

"Yeah!" Blaster chimed in.

"Our pleasure, right?" Duren asked, now back to back with Khalil. They were surrounded by enemies, none of which seemed to have magic, but all of which were armed with some kind of weapon. There were at least thirty enemies left.

"You bet!" Khalil responded with a grin, which looked a bit odd with his glowing pig snout. After a moment, the pig traits vanished and Khalil caught the charm.

One of the enemies stepped forward and spoke before they could start fighting, though. "Do you really think that two mages are capable on taking on all of us?" he asked.

Duren and Khalil looked around then exchanged glances before responded with "Yeah," in matter-of-fact tones of voices. With that, Duren charged forward, using his red spear again, and Khalil took out the charm of the rabbit and called, "Gate of the Rabbit: I call upon thee to lend me your power!" before throwing the charm in the air.

While Duren took on a part of the crowd, Khalil took on the other part.

Duren swung his spear wildly, sending enemies flying the process. He was fairly skilled with keeping enemies away from him, but at one point, he flinched with surprise as a body was sent flying over him. He looked back to see Khalil grinning, bouncing as he moved around.

"I got your back, bro," the bunny man said with a grin.

Duren's eyes shot to the area above and behind Khalil and he yelled "Pierce!" while aiming his spear like a gun. A red orb of magic formed on the end of it and shot over Khalil's head, piercing the foe that hovering over him with another magical gun. "And I've got yours," he said, his lips parting to reveal his teeth.

With that, the two continued to fight, allowing none of the enemies to even come close to the caravans. The moment that one would try to sneak close, Khalil would dash and flip over them, bringing them to the ground or Duren would shout "Pierce!" and gun them down by thrusting his spear forward.

Once there were about ten enemies left, they began to run away after the man who had originally spoke to Khalil and Duren called out for them to retreat. Both of the boys started to run for the forest, but the female caravan driver barked orders to them.

"Do NOT give chase! Your job is to protect the caravan, not rid the area of thugs!" she commanded.

Khalil skidded to a stop and after thanking Bi for the magic, his bunny traits vanished. "Awwww…. I was having so much fun!" he whined. His knuckles were bruised and bloody and he had a few bruises and cuts here and there, but he had been grinning before whining.

Duren stopped behind Khalil, letting out a sigh as he put his spear up. He was in the same condition, with a similar lopsided grin until he heard the woman's orders.

Melody ran up to the two, her eyes narrowed. "Reckless!" she pointed out, eying all of their injuries. "Is it just an unspoken rule that men have to be reckless in battle?" Her hands were on her hips and she was glaring at both of them.

Khalil rubbed the back of his head, fiddling with his long lock of hair and laughing lightly. "I didn't even realize I was getting hit!"

"Me either, sis!" Duren said, also laughing.

Melody rolled her eyes and let out a huff. "Insufferable," she mumbled.

They returned to the caravan and while Melody was dressing their wounds, the male caravan driver spoke.

"That was outstanding work," he pointed out. "I was worried when I realized only two of you were fighting, but my worries were expelled with ease."

"Thanks!" Khalil and Duren responded with grins.

"Hey! I fought, too!" Blaster pointed out, his eyes narrowing.

This caused the group to laugh, which made Blaster pout even more.

* * *

><p>The rest of the trip to Mimosa was made with no problems, and after compliments from the two caravan drivers, the group was paid quite wells for their efforts. They helped unload the cargo and then went about their business.<p>

"We've got money, now!" Blaster cheered, flying beside Khalil's head.

"Yep," Khalil responded. He then turned to Duren and Melody, who were riding on top of Albarn. "It was awesome working with you two!" he said with a grin.

"Same to you," Melody said with small smile. She then hesitated for a moment. "What are you planning to do now?"

"Keep traveling," Khalil responded with a small shrug. "That's what I do."

"Why don't we just travel together?" Duren asked with a smirk. "The more the merrier or something like that, right?"

"Sure!" Khalil responded, returning Duren's smirk with his own. "I think that would be awesome!

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Note:<strong>__ That's the chapter. I decided to save the battle between Khalil and Duren for another chapter, as it would be very light night in the story at the end and I don't want the chapter to be so long. Hope you enjoyed~ Expect the next chapter towards the end of next week. Another character or two will be introduced. C: Feel free to ask me when your character will be introduced, as I have it planned. :D_

_Duren, Melody and Albarn belong to Barrett M107. :3_

_**Review Responses**_

_**Thank you all so much for reviews. It means a lot to me! Lots of love from me! 3**_

_Reven228 – I think this chapter answered your question just a little bit more. C: I'm happy you liked the chapter~_

_FrozenBlast13 – I'm really happy you think it's interesting. I wanted to try something a little bit different and focus with working on less characters for once, since I prefer more characters generally. C:_

_Barrett M107 – Hehehe… I try to make things seem canon enough that I could picture them happening in the anime. And yeah. Khalil's not the most trusting person, but he's nice. And yeah. Blaster is meant to be adorable. X3 And thanks. I wanted a Celestial mage, but I didn't want Khalil to be stuck on the sidelines, so after discussing some ideas with my fiancé, this is what I came up with. :3 I hope I portrayed Duren and Melody okay. They were really fun to work with._

_lordsoftheRoses - :3_

_IdentityCrisis.03 – I hope I don't disappoint with this. I work better with more characters as I can draw ideas from many sources. X3_

_Death Obelisk – I hope I don't disappoint with this, though I doubt it will be quite as good as Silver Griffin, since it's out of my comfort zone. ^^;_


	3. Chapter 3

**July 8****th****, X792, evening**

After parting from Mimosa, Khalil, Duren, Melody, Blaster and Albarn made their way back to the river and decided to use a bit of the money that they had made on the mission to pay for a ride across the river. There was no real reason behind their decision to do this, but they decided to, nonetheless, and now they had traveled beyond the river. During the time, they had managed to do two different escort missions for two of the towns that they had passed, so they were fairing decently on money.

Khalil had discovered that Melody was quite helpful, as she knew cooking beyond just letting a fish set over a fire with a bit of seasoning on it, and she also did their laundry quite often, which, while it was something he knew how to do, he often didn't bother to and instead purchased new clothing when he came across the money. When Melody had discovered this habit, she had scolded him, much as she scolded him and Duren for goofing off and making jokes out of pretty much any matter that they came across. She also kept Duren from going over the top with his flirting habits and kept Blaster and Albarn clean. She was also great with directions, which she explained was due to her having a good memory.

Now, they found themselves entering the grand city of Gloriosa. The city was one of the largest that Khalil had ever seen during his travels and while Melody and Duren weren't necessarily impressed by the size, they were impressed by the amount of color and beauty that was in the town.

The town had a twelve-foot tall, wrought iron fence that marked its borders, though it had four large gates that were all open to welcome travelers. Atop each bar that made up the fence were round, shiny, pink spheres that glistened in the evening sunlight. Beyond the gate, the streets were made up of rosy pink stones and lined with luscious flowers of all colors and types. Since the group was at the south gate, the first thing they saw on either side of the street was lush green grass and various play areas that made up a park complete with a little pond with light wooden benches surrounding it and small, smooth, dirt paths winding through it. The laughter of children and the sound of free-lance musicians filled the air.

The two guards at the gate nodded and gave the group bright smiles as they proceeded to enter the town, which smelled strongly of many types of perfumes. Beyond the park on either side of the street, tall buildings that were made of golden and pink stones, with either golden, lavender or fuchsia roofs lined the streets as people busily traversed the light pink cobble. The group could see the town square from where they stood, which was a plaza where many little market stands lined the area. A giant statue of a lady was in the street, though they saw her back, where waves of white marble hair cascaded to her hips. They could also see the giant clock-tower that faced them, with a white face, Roman numerals and two large, golden hands, one of which was longer and fast moving than the other. There was a street that led beyond the tower, but it was out of the group's field of vision.

"Man, this town is huge!" Khalil commented as he walked forward.

"It reeks," Blaster commented, holding his hands over his nose as he plopped on top of Khalil's head, his wings disappearing.

"It smells like fruit and flowers to me," Melody commented, breathing in the common scents of lady's perfume. It was like the town itself was based off of an aristocrat's manor or something.

"I wonder if the ladies are as gorgeous as the town," Duren commented, arching a brow. He had a huge lopsided grin on his face and his eyes were already scanning the area like a hawk, having jumped down from Albarn when they entered the town. When he saw a petite woman dressed in a pale pink gown with a matching sun-hat on her head, he was about to go over and talk to her when Melody punched him in the arm after landing beside him.

The female of the group didn't have time to scold her brother as Khalil made some type of comment on going to see what he could find in the town and then started to run off. She reached out and caught the long lock of hair that was on the back of his head, pulling him back. "This is a large city, you two. And while Duren and I have definitely seen more chaos, we don't need to split up."

Khalil rubbed the back of his head and turned to Melody. "Aw, c'mon. It's not going to hurt us to be apart for a while," he said, tucking his arms behind his head and giving Melody a cheeky grin.

"Yeah, you can't expect me to take my sister with me to pick-up ladies," Duren commented with a pouty frown. "And Khalil's worse than a sack of potatoes when it comes to flirting."

Melody tried to hold a straight face and continue to glare at the two boys, but after a moment, one of her lips twitched and with a snort, she began to laugh, covering her mouth with one of her hands. "You're so mean, brother…" she commented through her laughter.

"It's true, though," Duren said, slapping Khalil's back. "I've tried to teach this dude how to flirt, and it just ain't happening. He doesn't know how to find something about anyone attractive, much less point it out in an appealing manner."

Khalil looked up at Duren and blinked. "I still don't even know what you mean by finding something particularly good looking about someone. Everyone has eyes and hair and why should I really like the way someone's hair looks compared to the way others hair looks?" he asked.

"Don't you like certain tastes and textures and smells?" Duren asked.

"Yeah," Khalil answered.

"Then you should have some kind of preference towards eye color, or hair or something about the ladies that you just want to compliment," Duren said, slapping his back again, causing him to stumble forward.

"Not really," Khalil said with a shrug of his shoulders. "I don't really think too much on those sorts of thing."

"Do people from your village, like, not date or something?" Duren asked. Khalil had spoken a bit of his hometown to them, such as the fact that they had two languages or that most everyone knew everyone and affection was a common thing, which was something that he didn't see as much in his travels.

Khalil tilted his head and blinked, thinking hard on his question. "No… I mean. Kinda. We usually have planned marriages to kids of family friends," he said with a shrug.

"So do you have a fiancée?" Duren asked.

"Hmmmm…." Khalil hummed in response. "Maybe…?" he eventually responded, his lips pressed together in a crooked expression of thought. "I was a wild child. Most of my family friends didn't want someone like me marrying their daughters."

"What the hell is up with the 'maybe'?" Duren asked, folding his arms across his chest. "How can you not be sure of something like that?"

"I left town and I dunno when I'll go back, so by then, my parents may have decided or something," Khalil responded.

"And you don't have a problem with this?" Melody asked. She couldn't imagine being okay with returning home to marry someone whom she hadn't even dated before.

"Nah," Khalil responded nonchalantly.

"He's completely hopeless in romance," Blaster pointed out with a low sigh.

"Probably," Duren agreed. He then turned his attention back to the path ahead of them and they continued walking.

Khalil and Melody fell in-step behind him and Albarn trotted along with them as they made their way through the large city, peering into all of the shops as they traveled.

"Maybe we should stop and-" Duren was going to suggest that they stop and eat after passing a very colorful bakery that smelled like nothing short of heaven, but the sound of someone screaming made him stop, looking around.

His eyes landed on a man that was dressed in a purple cloak running away from a woman who was screaming about a necklace being stolen and how it was a family heirloom and such. The man disappeared in between the buildings while the pedestrians just seemed to stare at the woman as if she may be insane.

Khalil and Duren exchanged looks and without even speaking, they dashed forward, leaving Melody sitting beside Albarn, with Blaster in her arms. "Good luck, you two!" she called, knowing that there was no sense in her trying to stop them or chasing after them.

"Don't worry, beauty," Duren spoke as they passed the woman. "We'll have your necklace back in a flash!" he added with a wink, making the fairly young woman blush, her eyes sparkling with tears.

Khalil nodded in agreement, flashing the woman a boyish grin as he ran alongside Duren. "He went this way," Khalil said, turning his attention back to the thief that they were following. They weaved their way through the buildings, eventually finding themselves going down a slope that was towards the southeastern side of the town.

The two men barely even noticed as the bright pinks of the city faded to dull reds and browns and the smell turned from flowers and fruit to alcohol and drugs. This part of the city was lit by warn out, black, iron street lamps that often times had questionably dressed women who tried unsuccessfully to catch the attention of the two men as they ran after the cloaked figure. The buildings weren't clean like the ones in the main part of the city and the windows to most of the buildings were either protected by iron bars or boarded up with wooden planks.

They ran until they were deep in this part of town, stopping when they followed the thief around the corner only to find that there were at least three different streets that he could have taken, not accounting for the fact that he could have climbed the rusted stairs that were on the side of the building to their left.

"Damn…" a female's voice huffed, causing the two men to jump in surprise.

They looked to their right to see a woman with messy, pale blonde hair that while sleek in texture, was layered to look a bit messy, falling just below her shoulders, with layered bangs that were swept to the right, covering her right eyebrow. Her eyes were almond-shaped and bright orange, resembling the setting sun that they had seen when they entered the city. Her hair was tucked behind her slightly pointed ears and they could see that she had a heart-shaped face and creamy colored skin, with sharp, model-like features. She was shorter than them, probably standing around 5'4'' with a curvy body that was clothed in a brown leather bomber jacket that was lined with cream fleece, over a white v-neck shirt, blue jeans, and brown leather slip-ons and a silver chain bracelet. She had a brown aviator hat with white goggles in her hands, and each hand had two rings on it. She had a black messenger bag hanging from her shoulder at her hip.

"…I should have flown…" she continued speaking to herself.

"Where did you come from?" Khalil asked, blinking in confusion.

"Chasing that guy…" the woman responded, standing up and placing the hat back on her head, leaving her bangs showing from under it.

"Hello," Duren said with a charming grin, grabbing one of her hands and kissing it. "My name is Duren and it must be fate that we're chasing after the same enemy…"

The girl glared at him and took her hand back. "There is not time for this! We need to find that man!" she snapped.

"Did I mention that your eyes are stunning?" Duren asked, not giving up.

The woman blushed furiously, but she scowled at him. "Not. The. Time. For. That," she growled, balling her hands into fists.

"He went that way," Khalil pointed to their right.

"How do you know?" Duren asked.

"There are a lot of people to our left and in front of us looks like a dead-end," he said. He had been inspecting the area around them as Duren flirted with the woman.

"Nice job, Khalil!" Duren said with a grin. He then burst back into a sprint and Khalil and the woman both followed him. "By the way… Why aren't you using your rabbit charm?" he asked Khalil as they ran.

"She's busy today. She told me a few days ago that she wouldn't be able to help me today," Khalil responded with a small laugh.

"Down there, I bet," the woman said, pointing to a manhole cover that had only haphazardly been placed back on, a piece of purple cloth caught under it.

"Yep!" Duren agreed as he kicked the manhole cover out of the way and jumped down. "I'll catch you, if you want, beauty," he called up after he landed in the darkness.

The woman rolled her eyes and hopped down, landing beside Duren. Khalil then jumped down and landed beside her.

After digging in his backpack, Khalil pulled out a stick and a matchbox. After catching the stick on fire, he held it up, looking at the place that they were in.

They had followed the man down into the sewers, obviously, and they were standing on the cement lining of the sewer. The smell made him want to gag and the sound of running water could be heard to their right. He could see a few feet ahead of them, the sewers turned to the left and on the right, there was a large, elevated mouth that sewage poured from.

"You know, we never got your name," Duren said, trying to take his mind off of the fact that they were indeed in a sewer and about to go on a chase in the sewers.

The woman shot him an annoyed glance, but after a moment, she said, "Kiwa, but I go by Ki." With that, she started running forward, wanting to waste no time with getting the necklace back from thief and getting out of the sewers.

"Cute name on a beautiful woman," Duren flirted, sprinting to catch up to her, Khalil flanking her on the other side.

Kiwa blushed, but didn't respond, figuring that he may stop flirting with her if she didn't respond to him.

They ran fast, eventually catching sight of the purple-robed man leaning against a wall, evidently trying to catch his breath. A hushed string of curse words could be heard when he looked over and saw the three people running towards him. He quickly took off running again, but the group continued to chase, ignoring the burning in their legs at this point.

The thief led them through the sewers, eventually hopping into one of the large holes in the wall that sewage was no longer pouring from and continuing to run.

Khalil and Kiwa had no problem continuing to give chase, though Duren now found himself ducking as he ran. He still pushed forward, though, relieved when they jumped out of the tunnel into an even more run down part of the sewers, with cracks in the ceiling where moss grew and many cracks in the floor. However, the walls were lined with torches and the smell wasn't as bad.

Kahlil threw the stick, which he had had to relight a couple of times in their chase, on the ground and continued to give chase, a grin spreading across his face when the robed figure had to stop, unable to run any longer.

Kiwa jumped on the opportunity, forcing her legs to send her forward past Khalil. With her right hand, she tapped the gray z-shaped ring that was on the ring finger of her left hand. "Ring Magic: Sleep!" she called as an orange magic circle appeared in front of her hand and gray smoke surrounded her fist. She charged forward and threw her fist as the man.

He tried to dodge by rolling to the side, but he wasn't quick enough as Kiwa's fist collided with his stomach and the gray smoke circled around him, causing an overwhelming urge to sleep to wash over him. He swayed and stumbled from side to side for a few moments before he fell to his knees and then onto his stomach, the soft sound of snoring filling the room.

"That was sooo awesome!" Khalil cheered, running over and grabbing the necklace, which was pearl necklace with simple pink gems embedded between each pearl, and a large golden dove hanging from the center of it. He tucked it away in one of the outer pockets of his backpack and then turned back to his team. "We can leave now, right?"

Kiwa blushed furiously at Khalil's compliment, but after a moment, she cleared her throat. "Maybe," she said, placing her hands on her hips. Her legs were numb with pain at that point. She hadn't ran so much at one time in a long time, it felt.

Duren was resting his hands on his knees now, but when Khalil spoke to them, he stood straight and grinned. "Yeah. Nice job, team!" he cheered

"Maybe we should see what's up with this place," Kiwa suggested, stepping forward and looking around. She had been quiet for a moment, but after looking around more, she had decided that she definitely wanted to explore. In the distance, she could see that both forks in the path were lit. She suspected that it was probably the hideout for some type of illegal guild.

Duren and Khalil exchanged glances and after a moment, they agreed to look around. So, with Kiwa leading the way, they began to explore the abandoned part of the sewers.

The first area that they came to appeared to be some sort of training room. It was a small, hollowed out area in the sewers that looked as though it had been carved into the walls by man. Overall, the room had a spherical shape, but it was imperfect, with many areas jagged or carved in more than others. The room had training dummies that were made of burlap sacks with targets on the chest, eyes and neck, showing where vital points were. There were straw on the floor around all of the dummies and some of the dummies had arrows or knives in them. There was a weapon rack with various weapons on it on the wall across from the trio.

"Looks fun," Duren said, taking the gold and red spear from his back, getting ready to fire the magic from it at one of the targets.

Khalil took a dagger from one of his boots, but Kiwa stopped either of the boys from attacking. "We do not have time for that," she said in a stern tone.

"Okay," Khalil said, returning his dagger to his boot and turning to Kiwa for direction.

"Man… So serious," Duren said, returning his spear to his back. "Someone as hot as you should take it easy, Ki," he said, flashing her a flirty grin.

A vein swelled on Kiwa's forehead and she let out a small sigh. She then turned her attention back to the path behind them, leading them to the next area.

The next place that they found was also empty, but it was another large room that was filled with beds that were made out of pretty much any kind of cloth imaginable, with one pillow on each bed that appeared to be some stitched together cloth stuffed with straw. Some of the beds had backpacks or a few personal items near them.

"This is definitely some kind of hideout," Kiwa stated in a low voice, finding nothing particularly interesting in the room and turning around, Khalil and Duren following her.

"Have you ever heard any rumors of a dark guild in this town or anything, Ki?" Duren asked as they walked.

"I'm not from this town," Kiwa responded bluntly. "I was leaving when I heard that woman scream."

With that, they made it to the third room, which, unlike the other room, had about fifteen different people in it, all sitting around wooden tables that were low to the ground and looked as if they had been made out of scrap. The people appeared to be of all ages, including one woman with a baby, wrapping in a purple cloth, cradled in her arms.

When the trio walked in, a man with a scruffy gray beard, square jaw, shaggy gray hair, broad shoulders, and a worn black outfit stood and walked over to them, his olive colored eyes glaring at them. "Please, state your business with us," he spoke in firm, deep voice.

"What is this place?" Kiwa asked, returning his firm voice with her own, folding her arms over her chest. Khalil and Duren stood straight on either side of her.

"This place is known as Rat Wing," the man responded. "I'm Stefano, the leader of this organization."

"And what kind of organization would that be?" Kiwa asked. While she still looked stern and determined, she was using her right hand to fiddle with both of the rings on her hands.

"We are… An organization for those who have nowhere else to go," Stefano answered, turning to look at the group that was behind them.

While a couple of the younger men had stood, one with a bow and arrow in his hands and the other with a short-sword, the others seemed fearful, watching the trio. Most of them had gotten to the far wall of the room.

"We caught one of your members trying to steal from one of the citizens in a town, sir," Duren said. He could tell that Kiwa was nervous and had decided to do the speaking now.

Stefano let out a small sigh at his words. "It doesn't surprise me. We are low on food these days and while I train my members to only steal in dire times… These may be dire times for our humble establishment."

"You didn't kill him, did you?!" a small girl, probably around Melody's age stepped forward before any of the trio could speak again. Unlike Melody, she lacked curves and under her ragged red dress, her ribs were visible. Her pale brown hair was cut very unevenly to frame her face. Her skin was pale and there were circles under her eyes.

"No… We used sleep magic on him and left him at the entrance of this place," Duren responded, the state of the girl pinging at his heart. Dark or not, this guild was in bad shape.

"Thank you…." The girl breathed. However, after seeing the worried expression of some of her guild mates, her eyes widened again, the dark brown color in them now visible. "Y-you're n-not gonna turn him in a-are you?" she asked, tears swelling her eyes.

The trio exchanged looks at that. Normally, any of them would turn thieves in in a heartbeat, but none of them were heartless and it was obvious that the young girl needed the man.

"Pl-please… I-I'll g-give you what-whatever you w-want to not turn him in!" the girl cried, her entire body shaking as she stepped forward. "He-he's the o-only one I-I have left… Please…. Please…."

"We're not gonna turn 'em in," Khalil said with a small smile. He then pulled his coin-pouch from his waist. "Hold out your hand," he said to Stefano. When the elderly man complied, he dumped the contents into his hand. While not a lot, it would definitely be enough to feed them a couple of times.

Duren followed suit, knowing that they wouldn't have many problems getting more money. Besides, there would be multiple opportunities for money in a huge town like they were in.

Kiwa joined the two last, though she didn't actually have much money on her. She would find work or find the materials to make some jewelry to sell later.

Stefano held all of the jewel in both of his hands, a few of the coins falling on the ground. "Are-are you sure?" he asked, his voice shaking.

"Yeah," Khalil responded with a grin. "Your guild member really gave us a run around, though. I bet he could race in marathons or something!" he said, his grin widening.

"Th-thank you…" Stefano responded, his voice breaking as tears began to stream from his eyes.

Most of the Rat Wing members just watched in awe at the scene, but the girl who had spoken earlier stepped forward some more, staring at Khalil's bangle. "E-excuse me… Mister," she said in a small voice. When Khalil looked down at her, she pulled a small charm from her pocket. It was like the other charms, but it had the symbol of a rat on it. "D-do you collect these?"

Khalil's eyes widened at the charm. "I do," he responded. He realized that he had just given all of his money away and he really didn't have any more valuables on him at all. He wanted the charm, though.

The girl smiled sheepishly and handed it to him. "I've had it for a long time, but I-I don't know wh-what it's used for…"

Khalil took it and stared at it. "It's for my magic," he said with a grin. "And thank you!" he added, surprising the small girl by hugging her and kissing her on the cheek.

The girl blushed like mad, but nodded. "Y-you're welcome…" she said in a tiny voice.

"What's your name, so I can tell my spirits about you?" Khalil asked, his eyes now sparkling.

"Erm… Rhian," she responded in a tiny voice.

"Well, thank you, Rhian!" Khalil replied cheerfully, placing the rat charm in his bracelet. He then turned to Duren and Kiwa. "Should we be going?" he asked.

"Yeah," Duren said with a grin. "Congrats on the new charm," he added, giving Khalil a thumbs-up.

Kiwa nodded, and with that, they parted ways from Rat Wing.

* * *

><p>When they returned to the woman, they informed her that they hadn't managed to catch the thief, but he had dropped the necklace. She thanked them and paid all of them, much to their surprise, and then parted ways, stating that it was night and she needed to get home to her parents.<p>

"Who is this?" Melody asked, coming up to the three after they had spoken with the woman. She had waited for the two men. Upon getting really close to them, she wrinkled her nose. "You smell…" she mumbled.

"This is Kiwa!" Duren said with a grin. "She helped us. She goes by Ki, by the way."

"Hi," Kiwa greeted, no real emotion on her face at that moment.

"Hello, Ki," Melody said with a small bow of her head. "It's nice to meet you."

Khalil had seemed to be zoned out, staring at his bracelet thinking that he would need to make a contract pretty soon. However, he snapped back to the real world and turned to Kiwa. "You said you were leaving town tonight, right, Ki?" he asked. When she nodded slowly, giving him a questioning look, he continued. "Do you travel or something?"

"Yeah," she responded flatly.

"Why don't you travel with us?" Khalil asked with a grin on his face. "We're exploring Fiore with no real goal, but we like helping people!"

She arched a brow and folded her arms over her chest. "What makes you think I'm gonna travel with that?" she asked, nodding towards Duren when she said "that".

This made Melody giggle, while Duren frowned and opened his mouth to say something. Khalil didn't notice that he was about to talk, and continued to talk. "You seem to like helping people, and Duren is awesome!"

Kiwa began to chew her lips, her eyes falling to the ground. It would be an opportunity to get stronger, that was for sure. And they weren't completely insufferable. They also both appeared to be mages, though she wasn't sure about Melody. After a moment she began to float up into the air until she was barely a foot or so off of the ground. A green ring that had a white wing on it on her index finger began to glow as she did this.

"So awesome!" Khalil cheered, while Duren and Melody both chuckled at his reaction.

Kiwa blushed brightly at this and landed on the ground. "Fine," she said, placing a hand on her hip. "I'll join you," she said. "But I don't plan on leaving until I find a shower."

Khalil and Duren laughed at this.

With this, they all turned to walk further into the town, but were stopped by the voice what sounded like a small child behind them.

"I wanna come, too!" the voice said. Its source was a small, chubby little girl with chocolate colored skin, curly black hair that fell just past her shoulders and large, dark brown eyes that were narrowed in determination. She had a cute, chubby face that had a determined grin spread across it. She was dressed in a bright red t-shirt, a denim miniskirt, white leggings and muddy white sneakers. There was a bandaid on the top of her right hand, a wrapping around her left forearm, and a bandaid over the bridge of her nose. She had a dark red book-bag on her shoulders.

"Excuse me?" Melody asked with a small smile. The little girl was adorable.

"My name is Dahlia and I wanna join your group, too!" she repeated, placing her hands on her hips. "I'm strong, too!" With that, she lifted her hands up and a light yellow magic circle appeared over the group. After a second, a bright ray of light blinded them, making all of them step back, letting out yelps of surprise. "See?"

Melody blinked as her eyes readjusted and walked over to Dahlia, crouching so that they would be at eye-level. "You are very strong, but I don't think your parents would like you traveling with a bunch of grown-ups, sweetie."

"They don't care. I asked!" Dahlia insisted, her cheeks puffing out as she pouted. "My momma taught me Sunlight magic and she wants me to grow up to be a big, strong, mage!"

"I don't know about that…" Melody said in a small voice, a sweat-drop appearing on the back of her head.

"It is fine, if you will accept her," a woman spoke. Melody looked up to see an average sized woman with very noticeable curves, dark skin, pale brown eyes that were covered by golden and black makeup, and curly black hair that fell to her chin, standing behind Dahlia. She was dressed in a simple green gown.

"See? Tell 'em, Momma!" Dahlia said.

The woman laughed, running her hands through her daughter's hair. "My name is Dora and I taught Dahlia her magic… But I don't think any mage can really be strong without adventure and my husband is just not into all of that stuff, since he can't use magic."

After the rest of the group walked up, exchanging questioning glances, Dora spoke again. "I know it may be too much trouble and I understand if it is, but she hasn't stopped talking about you two boys since she saw you chase off that thief."

"I don't see why not," Khalil spoke with a grin, tucking his arms behind his head. "If you wanna train with us as we travel, you can."

Dahlia's face lit up. "YAY! Thank you!" she cheered, clapping her hands together.

"I don't know if you'll be able to fight thieves and stuff like Duren, Khalil and Kiwa, though," Melody said, furrowing her brows. She still wasn't sure about letting a child travel with them. However, if Khalil thought it would be okay, then she guess that she would be able to handle it. "We don't want you to get too hurt."

"That's okay!" Dahlia said. "I'll prove to you guys that I'm just as strong as you!" she said, punching the air, her hand aglow with light magic.

"Well… Thank you…" Dora said, bowing her head in thanks. "I packed some jewel with her for hotel rooms and such, and a sleeping bag," she added. "I know I loved adventuring when I was young. I'm sure she'll have a blast."

* * *

><p>Later that night, after showing, Khalil, Blaster and Duren found themselves in a two bed hotel room at one of the more modestly priced hotels in the city, while Melody, Kiwa and Dahlia were in another. The room was simple, colored with beiges and dark pinks, with two white beds and one wardrobe, along with two nightstands with small lamps on them.<p>

"Today's been fun," Duren commented, plopping back on the bed. He was now dressed in black boxers and a t-shirt, his hair still damp with water from showering.

"Yep," Khalil responded with a grin. He still had the same pants on, but nothing else. The long lock of hair on the back of his head was pulled up in a messy bun in the middle of the back of his head and the front of his hair was slicked back with water. While his bangle was on the nightstand, he had the charm of the rabbit in his hands.

"Ki's definitely a ten," Duren said, pulling the cover over himself and tucking his arms behind the pillow that his head was resting on.

"A ten?" Khalil asked, causing Duren to groan. He shrugged it off and turned his attention to the charm in his hand. "I need to make this contract," he said.

"'Kay," Duren responded, still frowning up at the ceiling.

"Gate of the Rat: I summon thee to this world!" he called as he flipped the charm up into a magic circle.

Within a puff of golden light and smoke, a tiny girl with long, dark brown hair that was pulled into a high ponytail appeared. She had a pointed face with large whiskers and black beady eyes. She had large rat ears on the side of her head, pinkish hands and feet that resembled the paws of a rat with white claws on them, and a long, pink rat tail with just a bit of fuzz on it. She was dressed in a simple green tube dress that fell to her knees. Her body lacked curves and she looked like a child.

"H-hi…" she squeaked, stepping back. "A-are you i-in need of a c-contract?" she asked.

"Yep!" Khalil responded. "I'm Khalil and I'd love to make a contract with you!"

"I-I'm Ta. My p-powers aren't v-very strong…" the small rat girl said, still backing up, her tail swaying gently.

"It's okay! I'm sure I can still use them!" Khalil said, holding his hand out to the girl. "What do ya say?"

"Okay…" Ta responded, taking his hand, causing both of their hands to glow with yellow light. "I c-can lend you my p-power for 1 hour at a time…"

"Okay," Khalil nodded in understanding. After Ta didn't speak again, he tilted his head to the side. "How many times a day?" he asked.

"Oh… U-um," Ta blushed bright and looked from side to side, obviously unnerved. "H-how about t-twice for now?"

"Okay! I got it!" Khalil said, nodding and grinning. Once again, there were a few moments of awkward silence between them. "Are there any times you're not available?" Khalil asked slowly.

"Oh!" Ta's eyes widened and then filled with tears of embarrassment. "N-no! I-I'm really sorry! I-I'm no g-good at this!"

"Alright! Thank you, Ta!" Khalil said, shaking her hand and then letting it go. The golden light that was between them then dissipated as he stood. "And no problem, you were great!" he said, patting her head.

"Th-thank you, Khalil!" Ta nodded, hugging herself as she vanished, the charm falling from over the area that she had been standing.

Khalil caught the charm and placed it in his bangle. He then fell into bed with a yawn.

"Does it normally go more smoothly?" Duren asked. He had been watching, but didn't get up, because he figured with him being in his underwear, it would make Ta feel even more uneasy.

"With the other three, it did," Khalil said. "It's usually a quick process and then they leave," he said. "But she seems shy…"

"Do you know what powers you get from her?" Duren asked.

"Nope," Khalil responded.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Note<strong>__: Hi, guys! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I'm feeling better now, so I should be able to start writing again, though I'll probably mostly be working on Silver Griffin, as usual. I'll try to get at least one more chapter of this up before my break ends, though. :3 Not really much to say other than that! 2 or 3 characters will be introduced next chapter. :3_

_*Clears Throat and blushes like mad* Thank you to FrozenBlast13 for pointing out a pretty big mistake when Khalil summoned the rat, not rabbit, for those of you who read it before the change._

_**Credits:**_

_Kiwa – FrozenBlast13_

_Dahlia – Pudding21_

_**Review Responses**_

_**As always, thank you all so much for reviewing! Tons of love from me and I appreciate it so much! :D**_

_Barrett M107 – I'm really happy that I did okay with Duren and Melody! :3 And yeah, I really like hyperactive characters as well. ^^_

_FrozenBlast13 – I'm really happy that you enjoyed the chapter! I hope I did okay with Kiwa. :3_

_IdentityCrisis.03 – I'm really happy that you enjoyed the chapter. :3 And yeah, your guess was right. That's probably honestly the most obvious one. Hehe. X_X_

_Reven228 – I'm really happy you enjoyed the chapter. :D_

_lordsoftheRoses – I do believe I responded to your review via PM. :D_

_Nicky Azure – Happy you enjoyed the chapter! :D_


	4. Chapter 4

**July 14****th****, X792, evening**

"Gate of the Rat: I call upon thee to lend me your power!" Khalil called as he was bathed in the golden light of his magic. When the light faded away, he had golden whiskers, rat ears, claws and a tail. His eyes and the tip of his nose were glowing yellow. Across the grassy clearing was Duren, his red and white spear in his hands, a smirk on his face.

The group of mages found themselves at the base of a mountain now, and they had arrived at a small lake, complete with a waterfall pouring into it from the mountains. The grass was green and the smell of water filled the air, and in the orange evening light, fireflies could be seen flickering through the sky, becoming more and more common as the light of sun faded.

Dahlia, Kiwa, Melody, Blaster and Albarn were all sitting a few feet away from the boys, close to the water. While Dahlia and Melody sat with their shoes off and their feet in the water, Kiwa floated above the water with the power of one of her rings, Blaster was in Melody's lap, currently asleep, and Albarn seemed to be minding his own business.

Khalil had been practicing with his newest Celestial Charm since he had gotten it and at that moment, Duren had agreed to spar with him one on one once they settled down for the night.

"Let's see what you got," Duren taunted, spinning his spear around his hand and then catching it. He then charged forward and attempted to stab at Khalil, who darted to the right and swung his tail around, smacking Duren in the back with it.

Duren stumbled forward, but caught himself and did his own little swiveling motion, turning and bringing his spear down over Khalil's shoulder, causing the other male to wince and roll out of the way before he was hit again.

Khalil was on his feet in a few seconds after rolling and with a twitch of his ears, he bounded forward again. He had his claws ready to scratch at Duren, but when Duren went to slash at him with the spear, Khalil brought his left forearm up, barely noticing when his skin was cut and blood trickled down his arm. He then brought his right leg up, his heel colliding with Duren's chest.

Khalil expected Duren to be staggered by the kick, but he wasn't. Instead, Duren smirked, took the hit with ease, and then hit Khalil in the side with the spear, hard enough to send the boy skidding across the ground, a small cut in his side, which was exposed by his midriff top.

"Geh…" Khalil groaned as a dark bruise formed around the cut. He pulled himself to his feet, though, and grinned. "Nice job!" he called cheerfully. He wasn't as good with this magic, as opposed to his other charms. Then again, he had had most of his other charms for years. He needed to get good with Ta's magic.

Duren smirked, his weapon still readied. He was barely even touched. He may have had a small bruise on his back, but in all honesty, Khalil didn't pack nearly the punch with the Rat as he did with the Rabbit.

Khalil placed one foot forward, and he was about to charge, when an unfamiliar smell entered his senses. He was almost certain, that even over the waterfall, he had heard footsteps, too. He looked around, his eyes darting to each of his other teammates, who didn't seem fazed by it, either.

While the two men were fighting, the girls talked. Well, really Melody and Dahlia spoke to one another while Kiwa half-listened, half-dozed.

"This has been so much fun!" Dahlia said, bringing her hands up and balling them into fists. They hadn't even partook in any missions since Dahlia had joined the crew. It had been traveling through miles and miles of unpopulated territory, but the little girl had been excited just by the opportunity to travel.

Melody giggled softly at this. "Has it?" she asked in a gentle tone. She had to agree that it was fun at times. Khalil and Duren seemed to keep the conversations lively at all times and over the past few days since Dahlia joined them, the two men had had a blast telling stories of their travels, with Blaster joining in sometimes and telling stories, too. While Kiwa didn't chime in on the stories, sometimes she would comment and put the men down for exaggerating details, such as when they told the story of chasing after the thief.

"I can't wait to fight some more bad guys with them!" Dahlia said, her eyes narrowing in determination. They had already informed her that if something really dangerous came up, Duren, Kiwa and Khalil would be the only ones to handle it, but if it was something small, she could try and help.

Melody didn't have time to respond to the little girl as a shadow shot over head. It caused her to let out a gasp of surprise, while Dahlia hopped up and Kiwa's eyes opened, instantly narrowing.

Khalil jumped forward, landing right in front of the shadow, which landed in between him and the girls. However, it wasn't really a shadow, but rather, the way the person had jumped at such speed.

It was actually a female. She stood at about 5'6'' with a creamy, pale complexion and a curvy body. Her face was heart-shaped and her eyes were almond-shaped and silvery gray in color. Her hair was brown, but with the way the glow of the fireflies reflected off of it, it appeared to hold a violet tint to it. It was really short, but with long locks framing her chin and short bangs swept across her forehead. She was dressed in a sleeveless turtleneck top that fell to the middle of her thighs, with slits in the ribs, black shorts that hugged her thighs and were just barely visible under the top, black boots that hugged her legs and stopped under her knees, black fingerless gloves and a loose black sash around her waist. A tiny, black messenger back was strapped over her shoulder, the small leather bag resting at her hip.

Instantly, she grinned broadly and threw at glowing white punch at Khalil, who just barely managed to dodge and swing around, swiping his rat-tail at her.

She dodged with relative ease, laughing playfully. The silvery-white magic around her fist began to glow, taking the shape of the paw of a tiger and she swiped at Khalil, jumping towards him as she did so.

Khalil managed to dodge by falling back on his elbows and allowing the female to pass over him.

The girl flew over Khalil and landed on all fours. She looked back at him, but her attention turned to Duren when he spoke.

"Hey, lady…" he purred, walking over to her with his hands on his hips. "If you're lookin' to have a little fun, you could always come play with me," he added with a wink and a charming grin.

Melody, who was watching the battle with curiosity, rolled her eyes. "This woman could be an enemy, but leave it to my dimwit of a brother to still try to flirt with her," she said in a sarcastic tone.

"She doesn't seem mean," Dahlia said, frowning slightly. The girl was laughing and looked like she was legitimately having a good time playing with Khalil.

"We don't need to be too laidback," Kiwa pointed out. She had landed on the ground and had her arms crossed over her chest, eying the girl cautiously.

The girl tilted her head at Duren, a sort of naïve, childish sparkle in her eyes. "So much fun!" she said in a cheerful voice as she charged Duren, running on two feet with her arms behind her. When she got close to him, she cried out "White Tiger's Claw!" The magic on her arm returned, making her entire arm look like the arm of a white and silver tiger. When she got close to him, she threw her fist, though the magic made it look as though she was batting at him like a tiger would.

"Damn!" Duren snapped, pulling out the golden and purple spear from his back and blocking the attack by holding it horizontally. When the magic on the woman's hand disappeared on impact, he smirked. "That's not what I mean by playing, cutie," he said.

The girl's brows furrowed at the spear. She then flipped, holding herself up on one hand as she called out "White Tiger's Kick!", causing the heel of her right foot to crash into the spear and send it flying out of Duren's hand.

Duren watched the spear fly across the field, slightly amazed that the girl's kick had had enough force to send it flying. She packed a hard hit even without magic, obviously.

"Gate of the Rabbit: I call open thee to lend me your power!" Khalil called out. His rat traits had vanished and he now donned his rabbit traits. He charged forward and threw a fist at the girl, who managed to dodge by rolling to the side, landing a few feet away. He grinned at her, holding his fists like a boxer now. "What's your name? And why did you decide to fight us?" he asked.

"I'm Aura!" the girl introduced herself with a grin, her eyes sparkling as she stood up straight for a moment. "And I was on top of the waterfall and it looked like you two were having a lot of fun!" With that, she noticed that she was next to the spear and she grinned, about to reach down for it.

Duren lifted his hand and called out "Buide!" and then spear flew to his hand. "You can't touch that spear," he said with a wink when Aura looked at him with questioning eyes.

"Why don't we do a tag team battle?" Khalil suggested before they started fighting again. "Ki and Aura could fight together and then me and you, Duren."

Kiwa walked over when she heard her name. "I'm not working with someone that came out of nowhere and attacked us," she said in a firm tone, her arms folded over her chest.

"Then why don't I work with Aura, you can work with Duren?" Khalil suggested.

"Alright! Getting to work with one of the ladies," Duren said with a grin, making Kiwa roll her eyes.

Kiwa wondered if she would prefer to work with Khalil but she didn't really know what was worse; flirtatious or dimwitted. Whatever, it would be a chance to practice, which was the reason she joined up with the team in the first place. And teamwork wasn't her strong suit, so maybe it would really help. "Fine," she said, standing next to Duren.

Duren instantly threw an arm around her shoulder, grinning down at her. "You won't regret this," he said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Already am," Kiwa responded flatly, removing his arm and glaring at him.

"Alright!" Khalil said with a grin, hopping back with a great leap. "Let's beat 'em, Aura!" he called.

Aura looked around and when she noticed that Khalil had moved back, she did the same, hopping back and landing beside him. "Your bunny ears are cute," she commented with a big grin, looking at the giant ethereal ears.

Khalil only grinned at her in response. His eyes then darted in between Duren and Kiwa. "Ready?" he asked.

"Yep!" Duren called, while Kiwa just nodded.

Khalil was the fastest to move, making it across the field and closing the distance between the two teams in a matter of a couple of seconds. When he found himself in Kiwa's face, he threw a series of rapid punches, succeeding in landing the first two before Kiwa managed to swivel to the right and dodge.

"Ring Magic: Watery Fist!" she called, tapping the aqua blue ring with a droplet in the middle of it that was on the middle finger of her left hand. Her fists were coated in pressurized water and she attempted to throw a punch at Khalil, who somersaulted backwards.

At the same time, Aura flew over Khalil's head, her fists glowing with silvery white tiger heads as she did so. "White Tiger's Fang!" She shouted as she brought both of her arms forward, aiming at Kiwa from both sides.

"Nope!" Duren called, jumping behind Kiwa and putting his arms in front of her, the purple and gold spear, Buide, in his hands. He blocked both of Aura's fists, making the tiger heads dissipate. He then spun around so that he was in front of both of the girls and slashed at Khalil's chest with the ring tip of the spear, a glowing purple slash going over the other boy's chest and then disappearing.

Khalil felt weaker and for a few seconds, his rabbit traits got dimmer, but he flexed his fists and they gained their glow back. However, the nature of the attack of the spear had distracted him and he didn't even notice Kiwa, who had come out from behind Duren and slammed her watery fist into his jaw, sending him sliding back.

"Awesome!" Aura cheered. Her fists then got ethereal tiger paws over them and she jumped, aiming from Duren with her fists glowing. "White Tiger's Claw!" she yelled as she slashed at him with both fists.

The fact that Aura had completely neglected Kiwa and went for him threw Duren off and he found himself hit in the chest with both of her fists, sliding back a few feet. He then held Buide like a gun in one hand, his ribs aligned with the spear as he called out, "Pierce!"

When Aura saw the dark red sphere forming on the end of Buide, she jumped back, but Kiwa was now in the air, her flight ring glowing, and she drop-kicked the other female, slamming her into the ground.

Duren grinned and fired a few shots at Aura, the red energy colliding with her and leaving glowing purple "wounds" all over her body, damaging her magic reserves.

When the wounds faded, Aura rolled over and hopped up, but she was staggered by how much magic she had lost. She found herself swaying in dizziness, not even noticing as both Duren and Kiwa charged at her.

"I'm not out yet!" Khalil called, hopping across the battlefield and landing in between Aura and the other two mages. He blocked Duren's other spear with his left forearm and then leaned against it, performing swift, repetitive kicks to Kiwa, driving his heel into her gut with the final kick sending her crashing to the ground. He then swiveled and went to punch Duren, but let out a small cry of surprise when Duren caught his fist.

Duren smirked at his friend and then brought his knee into the other boy's gut. When Khalil doubled over, he dropped his spear and shot his fist into Khalil's back, in between his shoulder blades, knocking him down.

Khalil fell to the ground with pain in what felt like every part of his torso. He saw Duren's spear on the ground and reached for it, figuring that Aura would be able to get them down if he got Duren's offensive spear.

"Daerg!" Duren called, making the spear fly into his hand. "No!" he said, tapping Khalil on the head with the tip of the spear.

"White Tiger's Kick!" Aura cried from above, having regained her composure and planned out her attack during the little battle between Khalil and the two mages.

Duren switched spears and blocked with Buide, but Aura expected this, so she let her first foot land on the spear and then drop-kicked Duren in the shoulder with the other foot. As the spear-wielder went down, buckling under the power of kick, she jumped back. However, her clumsiness finally came out, and she failed the landing, her foot slipping out from under her, resulting in her landing on her tailbone with a small cry.

Kiwa, her entire body aching, flew into the air and despite her state, she charged forward. It was best for her to push herself during training so that she would get used to fighting while in pain, just in case. Her fists were still covered in water and she charged Aura, throwing punch after punch.

Aura was hit by the first few punches, sliding across the ground on her back as she was hit. She managed to pull herself together and rolled to the side and then stood. She tried to channel magic into her fists, but her eyes widened when nothing other than a faint glow happened. "What?" she mumbled under breath.

She didn't have much time to consider what could have happened to all of her magic as Kiwa landed on the ground and put her full force into a watery punch to her jaw, sending her flying.

There was a moment of silence as Kiwa stood while the other three were on the ground. However, after just a few moments of standing, her legs gave out and she fell to the ground holding her stomach, where a lot of the hits from Khalil had landed.

"Geez!" Melody called out, running over to them. She was torn. A part of her loved watching them train because it was entertaining, but another part of her hated it because they never really went easy on each other. However, this wasn't the bloodiest training she had seen yet, since Duren and Khalil could get really rough with each other sometimes.

The first place that the young blonde went to was Khalil's forearm, the left one that he used for blocking. It was bloodied with two gashes in it, as usual. It was actually surprising that there were only two gashes.

"Gonna scold me, Mel?" Khalil asked, sitting up. He really wasn't that injured. He was scuffed up and had the cuts on his forearm and side, but he had had worse. Still, over the weeks that he had been traveling with the siblings, he had been scolded so many times by Melody. He was pretty sure he hadn't been scolded so much since he was a child.

Melody looked up at him. Really, she wasn't going to scold him, until she saw the cheeky grin on his face. "You know you don't need to be so reckless, even when it's just training!" she started. "You'll form bad battle habits!"

Khalil chuckled, watching as she bandaged his arm and side, and then went over to Duren, who was sitting up and examining both of his spears.

"And you," she started. When Durren looked up at him with own cocky smirk, she huffed, placing her hands on her hips. She couldn't think of anything, so she just resulted in flicking him on the forehead.

"Ow!" he yelped, holding the now red spot in between his brows. He was grinning and there was laughter in his voice.

Melody made her rounds to Kiwa, next. "You okay?" she asked, as Kiwa sat up.

Kiwa glared at her in response, and turned her nose up. "I'm fine. I don't need you or your brother babying me."

"How am I babying you?" Duren asked, his grin fading to a look of inquiry. "I mean, I could baby you, if that's what you want, doll."

Kiwa only glanced at him from the corner of her eyes. "You didn't need to protect me from Aura. I don't need people to protect me," she said after a few minutes, her eyes falling to the ground.

"We were doing a team battle, though," Duren responded, tilting his head and furrowing his brows. He wondered if there were some hidden confidence issues in Kiwa. She usually carried herself and spoke with a firm, almost leader-like quality, but sometimes, she got so annoyed with them-mostly him-and he saw this odd look in her eyes. Maybe she was reflecting on events in her past.

"We're teammates, too," Khalil said. "We're gonna have each other's backs a lot."

"Yeah, I thought that was the part of being together," Dahlia said, walking over. "We're gonna explore Fiore and become the strongest wizards in the land, right? But we're doing it together," she said, putting emphasis on the word "together".

"I don't need people helping me like I'm weak," Kiwa responded in a firm tone.

"I think strength also comes from being able to work well with people, though," Melody said in a small tone, not wanting to upset the girl further but also wanting to get a point across.

Kiwa only let her eyes fall further, her face unreadable.

"You guys always travel together?" Aura asked. She was sitting up with her legs tucked under her, her eyes bright.

"Yep! We've been traveling together for a while," Khalil said with a huge grin.

"And you're gonna explore all of Fiore?" she asked.

Khalil shrugged. "Yeah. We do whatever we feel like doing," he said. That was really the best way that he could think of to explain their little group. They took missions to get money so that they could enjoy the luxuries of hotels, bathhouses and restaurants sometimes in their travels, but really, they were just a band of drifters, with no one having any real destination in mind.

"I wanna travel!" she said, pressing her palms to the ground and leaning forward, her eyes sparkling.

Khalil opened his mouth to question her, but Melody spoke first. "Where are you even from, Aura?" she asked. While she still found that Aura seemed trustworthy enough, she had just come out of nowhere and they didn't need to make the mistake of letting a thief join them.

Aura blinked and pressed her lips together in a thoughtful expression. "I haven't lived anywhere specific for a while, but I've been traveling for years, just around this part of Fiore."

"And what's your magic?" Melody asked. It had been a peculiar looking magic, after all.

"Hmmm… It was taught to me by my friend, Yuko," she responded. "…I'm actually looking for her!"

"How long have you been looking for her?" Melody asked.

"A few years. She told me it was better for me to live with humans, though," she explained, her brows furrowing. "I've had offers to join guilds and armies, but I don't wanna."

"I know the feeling," Khalil said. During his travels, he had been offered the same things. Become a guard for a city, or join a mage's guild where people were always others around and restricting missions by rank. He and Duren had been offered guard positions twice now for helping on various official missions, too.

"Yeah. Sucks to be in one place too long," Duren agreed. He had been offered countless permanent, relatively stationary jobs in his time in Fiore, but he wasn't interested because he didn't feel as though he had seen enough of the country.

"It's no fun to be in one place for too long," Aura said with a huge grin. "But I think it would be lots of fun to have people to travel with and fight with!" In her head, she was also thinking that maybe Yuko would come back if she actually found a "home" with other people. Surely a group of travelers would count as a home.

"So… What do you say?" Melody asked, turning to Khalil.

Khalil had spaced out and was idly playing with one of his charms, not even noticing that Melody was talking to him.

"Khalil!" Dahlia tapped him on the head after walking over to him.

Khalil grabbed his charm out of the air, looked to Dahlia and then to where she was pointing, to Melody. "Oh, you said something to me?" he asked.

"Do you want Aura to join us?" Melody asked, her brows furrowing in annoyance.

"I don't mind," he said with a small grin.

"Yay!" Aura cheered, clapping her hands together.

* * *

><p>Night fell soon after that, and the group set up camp in the clearing, with Dahlia, Melody, and Blaster on one side of the fire, and Khalil and Duren on the other. Aura ventured over to the nearby trees and climbed up on a branch to sleep.<p>

Khalil found himself awake long after the soft sounds of sleeping filled the air. It was usual for him to be this way. After he had joined up with Duren and Melody, he hadn't slept much for a couple of days, and it was the same way with Kiwa and Dahlia. He didn't feel like he wasn't trusting of them. He was just always slightly fearful of nothing in particular. No. That wasn't right. He couldn't explain it, even in his head.

He had thought that he was the only one awake for the longest of times, until he saw Kiwa, no longer wearing her jacket or hat-since there was no place to change into their sleepwear-get up, and walk over to the river, sitting down on the bank.

Khalil was silent and still as he watched her for a few moments, before getting up himself. He flinched when Duren rolled over and mumbled something about going on a date. When the violet haired man realized that Duren was not speaking to him, he shrugged and walked over to Kiwa, who instantly flinched when he plopped down next to her.

"I really don't want company right now," she said in a low tone, pulling her knees to her chest and resting her chin on them.

"S'wrong?" Khalil asked, yawning at the end of his sentence.

"None of your business," she replied flatly, glaring at the water. Frankly, it was actually calming, the way the moon reflected off of the surface, but she really wished that she was the only one awake.

Khalil pressed his lips together at her response. There was an awkward silence that was so strong that even someone as dense as Khalil could feel it. For a moment, he fiddled with his bangle, spinning it around his wrist and watching as the moonlight made the four charms sparkle. "You know, none of us will be mad if you wanna leave," he eventually said in a small tone.

Kiwa only glanced at him from the corner of her eyes, not responding.

When Khalil looked over at her, she looked away and he continued to talk. "You get really annoyed with us a lot and if it's… Not cool to be around us, then we can take you where you wanna go and part ways, y'know?"

Awkward silence.

"I want to travel with you guys," Kiwa said after a long time. "I just hate you and Duren thinking that you need to protect me or something. I'm a mage. I can hold-"

"I know you can!" Khalil said in a cheerful tone. He was relieved that she didn't want to leave. His little traveling family was growing and he didn't want to find out that people were leaving. "And I betcha Duren thinks so, too!"

Kiwa looked over at him with a questioning look. However, when their eyes met, she glared at him.

"Duren likes to do things for people, 'specially for girls," Khalil said. "He thinks that it will… Make you want to date with him?" The end of his sentence was said in an upwards inflection, as he was pretty sure that wasn't the right way of saying things. He wasn't sure, though.

"I have no interest in dating people," she replied in a flat tone.

"None of the girls that Duren goes for do, at least not for him, according to Mel," Khalil said with a small laugh. He didn't really understand Duren's ways, but the interactions between the siblings was entertaining.

"Do you laugh at everything?" She found that when Khalil and Duren were goofing off, the way they smiled so much made her want to smile more, but she wouldn't say that, of course.

"Maybe," Khalil responded with a grin.

* * *

><p>By midday of the next day, the group found themselves in a small village with log buildings and a dusty road. It was known as Bueford and the first thing that they noticed was that it was oddly quiet, even though they could see curtains of windows being moved as they walked through it.<p>

"This is… Unsettling," Melody commented. She was riding on top of Albarn, with Dahlia behind her and Blaster in front of her, and upon feeling the atmosphere of the small village, she hugged herself. She could feel eyes on them, watching from behind the safety of their homes.

"Town's weird," Duren mumbled. He then stepped in between Kiwa, Khalil and Aura. "Be prepared, but don't show your magic just yet," he whispered, keeping his jaw tilted downward to avoid his lips being read.

While none of the group responded, they all understood. "We'll head to the inn," Khalil said, looking around until he noticed a one-story, long cabin with a painted wooden sign that read "Blue Inn" in messy blue letters.

The group sped up and entered the inn, leaving Blaster and Albarn outside, after Blaster agreed that he could watch over the horse, just in case.

When the innkeeper saw the group, her eyes widened. She was a middle-aged woman with pale skin and blueish gray hair that was tied back into a messy bun, with a few loose, wavy strands framing her square face, which was tinted pink, though one would question whether it was actually blush or makeup.

"Welcome travelers!" she said in a cheery, yet oddly shaken voice. "Are you looking for a place t-to rest your head?"

"Actually, we have some questions, madam," Duren said, walking over to her and flashing a charming smile, which made the woman's face get even redder. After kissing her hand and making her giggle, he spoke. "We couldn't help but to notice the… Odd air in the town… Could you tell us 'bout that?"

The woman's cheeks instantly turned back to their normal pinkish color and her eyes fell to the old wooden counter. "Yes, well… For the past couple of years… Our dear town of Bueford… Has been plagued by a demon…"

"A demon?" Duren asked, arching his brow. He ignored the excited breaths from Aura and Dahlia and the small whimper from Melody.

"Yes… Well… It happens randomly," the woman started, toying with the small, pale blue ribbon that was on the front of her old-fashioned, navy blue dress. "But sometimes, the village is covered in mist, and then, many things turn up missing… Mainly valuables and food."

"And so you suspect it to be a demon?" Duren continued to question.

"Well, it… Moves quickly, and no one has seen its face. The ones who have were knocked out and their memories were too fuzzy to recollect anything," she explained. "Many people have left because of it… And the rest…. They live in fear and distrust. Some say that it may be another villager doing it. Magic may not be common in our town, but it wouldn't stop someone from stumbling across a magic weapon."

"I wanna fight a demon!" Aura said, hopping forward, but instantly being stopped by Kiwa's arm.

"We don't need to be hasty about this," Kiwa said in a firm tone, making Aura's eyes drop to the ground.

"Are there any places that the demon would be likely to attack?" Duren asked.

"Well, mostly merchant houses," the woman responded.

"Have you tried trapping it?" Kiwa began to ask questions now, too.

"We have," the woman responded. "But it knocked out the guards that waited around the trap."

"Why don't we try?" Duren asked. When the woman looked at him with doubtful eyes. "Most of us are mages, and I'm pretty sure we can come up with a strategy."

"I can use Na's power to wait beside a trap after the mist comes," Khalil offered. He had been thinking hard while the others talked.

"So… We'll just leave a bunch of stuff around and hope that Khalil can work his magic?" Melody asked in a fearful tone. She didn't want someone to get hurt by a demon. She was assuming that something so dark would be able to inflict some serious wounds.

"Khalil could catch it and then Kiwa, Aura and me will be waitin' to strike, if needed," Duren said. "And I like your thinkin', Khalil," he added with a grin.

"I wanna help!" Dahlia interjected.

"It's too dangerous," Melody instantly responded in a motherly tone.

Dahlia pouted at her, but when she saw the stern looks of the other members of the team, she let out a sigh and said, "Okay…"

"It is quite dangerous and I think I speak for Bueford when I say that we wouldn't want to put travelers at such a risk," the woman responded.

"Don't worry 'bout it!" Khalil spoke now, flashing the woman a cheeky grin. "If the town needs help, we'll help," he said.

"Oh… My, that is so kind of you…" the woman mumbled, after looking at each of the mages and seeing the determination and excitement in their eyes.

* * *

><p>By nightfall, the group had left Khalil's backpack in the middle of the road near a merchant's house, dropping it in such a fashion that the coinpurse had rolled out and it looked as if it may have been accidentally dropped by a traveler. They had made it look this way, too, allowing Khalil to ride on Albarn with Melody as they rode through town, the bounce in Albarn's step making his backpack fall from the shoulder that he had it strapped over.<p>

Now, they were all in the inn and Khalil was watching outside through the curtains, with Duren beside him, ready to open the window while Khalil was using his magic.

It took them a few hours of waiting, but soon, the mist began to creep in.

"Gate of the Snake: I call open thee to lend me your power!" Khalil called, quickly tossing the charm in his hand into the air. While his body was covered in glowing scales that slowly faded, making him ethereal and then invisible, Duren opened the window.

Khalil charged forward, making it to the bag just as he saw a mist-covered figure reaching for it. He grabbed the backpack with one hand and flipped over it, landing behind the figure and throwing his arms around it. "GOTCHA!" he called.

"WHAAA?!" A male voice cried out, unable to see his assailant. He instantly began to struggle against Khalil, moving in every direction. "Mist Magic: Misty Force!" he cried out after a few seconds of unsuccessful struggling.

Khalil could see the mist condense around them and suddenly, he felt his body being weighed down. Still, he didn't let go, hoping that the mist would soon clear.

"Ring Magic: Sleep!" Kiwa's voice sounded through the mist as purple magic sliced through the air, coming from Duren's Buide.

Kiwa aimed her fist at what could now be identified as a young, scraggly boy that was probably around the same age as Melody.

However, the boy was strong, and managed to dodge by swiveling around and causing Kiwa's fist to collide with Khalil.

Instantly, Khalil's magic broke and he was revealed, falling to the ground in his sleeping trance.

The boy made a mad dash in the opposite direction, but Aura leapt from one of the buildings, landing in front of him. "Let's fight!" she called as her fists burst with silvery white tiger heads and she uppercut him, sending him into the air.

"Ring Magic: Watery Fist!" Kiwa called, leaping into the air, ignoring the pang of guilt she felt for hitting Khalil. She punched the boy in the back, sending him skidding across the earth in front of Aura.

"Pierce!" Duren called from in the air above Kiwa, having leapt high with Buide in his hand. He fired multiple red shots at the boy, landing most of them as he did so. He landed with his legs over the boy and looked down at him with a cocky grin when the mist faded away. "Don't got too much magic, do you?"

The boy growled at Duren. "Piss off!" he barked, attempting to climb to his feet, but stopping when Duren placed a foot on his back.

"Mind tellin' us what you're up to?" Duren asked.

The boy only growled.

"Do you know you have a bad reputation in the town?" Kiwa asked, walking over with a cold look in her eyes.

"Don't care," the boy hissed. "Lemme go!" he then snapped, attempting to roll over, but only managing to squirm under Duren's heavy foot.

"You're hurting the people of this town and making them live in fear," Aura said, glaring down at the boy.

"So? It's not like I'd be able to live any other way," he growled in response.

The made Duren arch a brow. He didn't have to question. Just by looking at the boy, with his matted, wild, black hair that obviously hadn't been cut in a long time and his ragged clothes that didn't fit his body right, he could tell that the boy was an orphan.

"You need to learn to pay for your crimes," Kiwa stated. While Aura and Duren both seemed to hesitate a bit after realizing that the kid was probably an orphan, Kiwa kept her resolve.

"So you're gonna turn me in?" the boy snarled, showing his sharp teeth. Whilst his voice seemed intimidating, there was desperation in almond-shaped, pale blue eyes.

"Why didn't you just ask for something from the villagers instead of using your magic to take from people?" Duren asked.

"No one cares about me," the boy huffed, that anger finally breaking to fear and desperation at the realization that he was at the mercy of the three older mages-four once the magic wore off of Khalil.

"Did you even try?" Duren asked. "You're a kid-"

"I'm not a kid!" the boy snapped. "I'm fourteen!" he mumbled.

Duren chuckled at that.

"So, what are we gonna do?" Aura asked. She felt bad for the boy, but at the same time, she knew that they had said that they would catch the "demon". She was kind of sad that it was really just a little boy with magic.

"It depends," Duren said. He then lifted his foot and the moment that the boy got to his feet, he grabbed him and spun him around, looking down at him. "Are you gonna stop terrorizing the town?"

"I'll starve," the boy responded, averting his gaze, his dark brows furrowed.

"Why don't you just tell people your situation?" Aura asked.

"That's not going to work," Kiwa said, folding her arms over her chest. "These people live in fear of him; they're going to see him as nothing more than a monster, especially since this town isn't rich in mages."

"She's right," Khalil grumbled, standing and stumbling forward. He had been awake for a couple of minutes, but he had just gotten aware enough to stand. "He's nothing more than a demon in these people's eyes."

"So just turn me in and let them kill me!" the boy snapped, glaring when Khalil came closer.

"And you're just trying to survive, right?" Khalil asked.

The boy nodded, squirming when Khalil got even closer to him, now less than a foot between them. However, Duren was much stronger than him, so there was no way he was getting free.

"Why not join a guild or something, if you're a mage?" Khalil suggested. He knew that was probably weird coming from him, a person who refused to join any sort of legal guild.

"Then why not let me join your guild?" the boy asked. "Because you don't want a thief in your guild, right?"

"We're not in a guild," Khalil said with a laugh.

Kiwa rolled her eyes at how lightly Khalil was taking the situation.

"Yeah, right," the boy responded.

"It's true. We're just a band of traveling mages," Khalil said with a grin.

"You travel?" the boy asked, some odd sparkle flashing in his eyes for a few moments.

After Khalil nodded, there was silence between the group as they wondered what their next move should be.

"Lemme travel with you!" he said, determination bursting in his eyes.

"No," Kiwa stated before Duren, Aura or Khalil could respond. "We don't make that much money as it stands and we definitely don't need some low-life thief in our ranks."

"I won't steal," the boy said. "I just need to find someone."

All of the group exchanged glances. When there was silence, a vein swelled on Kiwa's forehead. "Come on!" she snapped. "You guys can't be considering this. We need to turn him in and get a move on it."

No one seemed fazed by Kiwa's words.

"Are you serious?" she huffed, rolling her eyes again. "There are at least two problems with letting him join us. One, three of us are holder mages and if he steals our magic items, we won't be able to fight and two, all of our belongings are in backpacks; he makes off with one of our packs, that person is broke and has nothing more than the clothes on their back."

"I… Just want to find my father," the boy said, his eyes dropping to the ground, his shoulders slouching. "He stopped sending me money a long time ago and I want to figure out why."

All of the group blinked, taking in what he had said.

"I'm lookin' for someone, too!" Aura said with a huge grin.

"So… What's your name?" Khalil asked. A part of him felt like he was probably more with Kiwa on the situation, but he also felt as though people deserve chances. He was certain that he would do the same as the boy, if he was placed in the situation.

"Robin," the male responded. When Duren let him go, he didn't try to flee, which relieved Duren a bit.

Kiwa's face turned red with anger at how stupid her teammates were and with a huff of annoyance, she stormed off in the direction of the inn.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Note:<strong>__ Hiya, guys~ Hope you enjoyed this chapter! First off, I wanna say that I'm sorry for not updating this. I'm really just happy that I got the update out before a month passed. Really sort, but so far, my year has been less than pleasant, to say the least. It's getting better, though, maybe. Anyway, feel free to ask when your OC will be introduced. I've got this story mostly planned, apart from small events like relationship development. _

_**Credits:**_

_-Aura belongs to Nicky Azure_

_-Robin belongs to reven228_

_**Review Responses:**_

_**As always, thank you so much for the reviews! I appreciate them so much and lots of love from me! Also, thanks for your patience with me! Lots of love!**_

_-Origm2012 – I definitely feel that this would be the case, but she's a mage, and they are a group of mages, so… Anyway, glad you enjoyed the chapter._

_-Pudding21 – I'm really happy that I portrayed her well. Hopefully I'll be able to work in a fight with her soon. :3_

_-Nicky Azure - Kiwa is lots of fun to write! And I hope I did okay with Aura! :3_

_-FrozenBlast13 – Thank you so much for pointing out the mistake! And I'm really happy that I portrayed Kiwa okay! Glad you enjoyed the chapter!_

_-The Guardian 1412 – I'm really happy you enjoyed the chapter! :3_

_-IdentityCrisis.03 – I'm really happy you enjoyed the chapter! :D And I hope things continue to get more and more interesting. :P_

_-reven228 – Naiad Drop definitely has a good mix of personalities; some that will clash and some that will mold well. It's gonna be lots of fun, especially after everyone is introduced. I'm happy you enjoyed the chapter!_


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